BetterPlace Acquires TROOPERS, strengthening its tech platform for Southeast Asia's frontline workforce

Asia's biggest workforce management Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform strengthens its gig fulfillment and Workforce-as-a-Service (WaaS) capabilities while continuing to expand its footprint in Southeast Asia

The acquisition of TROOPERSmarks BetterPlace's second major move in 2023,following its majority stake acquisition of MyRobin in Indonesia earlier this year

BANGALORE,India and KUALA LUMPUR,Malaysia,April 18,2023 --BetterPlace,Asia's biggest frontline workforce management SaaS platform,today announced the acquisition of TROOPERS,Malaysia's leading flexi talent solutions technology player. BetterPlace's acquisition of TROOPERS will accelerate its presence in the region and establish a stronger foothold in Southeast Asia.

Pravin Agarwala,Co-Founder and Group CEO,BetterPlace (L) and Joshua Tan,Co-Founder and CEO,TROOPERS (R)

The acquisition will integrate TROOPERS' automated gig matching and rostering features into BetterPlace's comprehensive SaaS platform. TROOPERS,founded in 2017,is a flexi-talent solutions platform that offers on-demand,pre-screened,part-time frontline workers to enterprises,enabling them to scale up their gig workforce based on operational demands. With a machine learning algorithm achieving a 95% matching rate,TROOPERS has helped over 50,000 gig workers in Malaysia find employment since its inception.

BetterPlace acquires TROOPERS

"Southeast Asia is expected to see a significant growth in demand for gig workers in the next five years,with the gig economy growing by 31% since 2017,well ahead of the growth in conventional workforce. In Malaysia alone,84% of hiring managers prefer hiring gig-workers," said Pravin Agarwala,BetterPlace.

BetterPlace and TROOPERS Team

"We are pleased to offer a robust SaaS solution catering to the growing market demand. Our comprehensive SaaS platform and artificial intelligence (AI) based algorithms,combined with TROOPERS' innovative flexi-talent solutions,enables enterprises to effectively tackle challenges such as high attrition rates,escalating labor and management costs,and skilled workforce shortages. Concurrently,frontline workers can optimize their earning potential through TROOPERS' proprietary gig matching algorithms," Pravin added.

Joshua Tan,TROOPERS,said,"Majority of the workforce ecosystem in Southeast Asia is informal,making it difficult for workers to discover supplementary jobs or increase their earning potential. Additionally,workers do not have the necessary skills to match growing enterprise requirements. Building on the principles of transparency,accountability,and legitimacy,we started TROOPERS to address talent shortage & workforce productivity for enterprises while creating better livelihoods for workers in Malaysia."

"We are eager to utilize BetterPlace's technological prowess and industry knowledge to scale our offering,potentially transforming the landscape of frontline work in Southeast Asia," Joshua added.

The future of Gig and WaaS

Gig and WaaS represent the future of work,addressing the high variability in demand patterns often experienced by enterprises. Companies increasingly seek to bridge skill gaps through 'just in time' or adequate supply while enabling workers to maximize their earning potential by connecting them with suitable gigs. However,enterprises continue to face challenges in finding the right flex- talent,managing rostering and addressing skilling issues,which ultimately impact the productivity and efficiency of their operations.

BetterPlace continually develops cutting-edge,tech-driven solutions that enable enterprises to be future-ready. The company's AI-powered enterprise platform provides robust matchmaking capabilities for companies seeking skilled candidates for gig and full-time positions. In addition to hiring and applicant tracking software (ATS) solutions,the company also offers remote onboarding,rostering,and digital upskilling capabilities for enterprises. Workers,in turn,gain access to higher earning opportunities,enhancing their Earnings Per Hour.

The acquisition of TROOPERS follows BetterPlace's recent expansion in the region. In February 2023,BetterPlace acquired Indonesia's leading blue collar workforce fulfillment platform,MyRobin,marking the company's first foray into the Southeast Asian region.

About BetterPlace

Founded in 2015,BetterPlace is Asia's largest SaaS and frontline workforce management platform. The company has over 30 million workers on the platform and over 1,100 companies as clients. Being a full-stack solution,BetterPlace caters to the entire value chain of frontline workforce management from verification,discovery,hiring,and onboarding to upskilling,productivity management and benefits transfer. BetterPlace has also launched their B2C platform Rocket which partners with enterprises to upskill frontline workers free of cost so that more frontline workers are job ready and enterprises have access to pre-trained frontline workforce.

BetterPlace has also been listed in the prestigious 'Forbes Asia 100 to Watch List' in 2021.

For more information,please visit https://www.betterplace.co.in/

About TROOPERS

Founded by co-founders Joshua Tan and Kelvin Lee,TROOPERS is a digital HR Tech platform for flexible work that aims to grant equitable access to flexible work for all Malaysians to work and earn in a legitimate,transparent,and accountable ecosystem. Since inception in 2017,TROOPERS has grown to become Malaysia's flexible job-matching platform. TROOPERS works with a range of esteemed brands across Malaysia to meet all their flexible manpower needs in terms of on-ground activations,offline marketing,merchandising,in-store promotion,logistics,warehousing,concerts and shared services.

As part of its ongoing commitment in building a flexible ecosystem,TROOPERS launched the TROOPERS App in 2021 which has since garnered over 180,000 verified users,generating over RM 20 million in income for gig workers with more than 200,000 shifts transacted on the app.

For more information,please visit https://www.troopers.com.my/