FastCo, a Singapore-based company behind job portals FastJobs and FastGig, has raised S$4.7 million ($3.4 million) in the extension of its Series A funding round, which brought the total round to S$10.5 million ($7.5 million).
Malaysia-based investment firm OSK Ventures International (OSKVI) led the round, which was joined by existing investor Cento Ventures and new investor Kairous Capital.
FastCo had raised S$5.8 million in the first tranche of its Series A led by Cento in December 2021. Cento also participated in the buyout of FastCo from then SGX-listed Singapore Press Holdings last year.
Julian Tan, FastCo founder and CEO, said in a statement on Thursday, that the funding will be used to support the company’s growth that includes regional expansion, marketing initiatives, and increasing headcounts in sales and product development teams.
“Both OSKVI and Kairous are strategic partners who will strengthen our expansion efforts in Malaysia, where we aim to double down on the underserved B40 market,” Tan said, referring to the bottom 40% income group in Malaysia.
Following the buyout by Cento in 2021, the company claims to have clocked steady growth.
FastCo, which is best known for its blue-collar job portal FastJobs, launched a freelance work platform FastGig in February to connect gig workers with employers as part of the efforts to improve the livelihood of underserved and informal job seekers.
To date, the company’s job portals have registered more than 4.4 million jobseekers across markets with an average of 500,000 monthly active users. These job seekers have access to more than 20,000 jobs in retail, food, and beverages, as well as logistics industries.
During DealStreetAsia’s PE-VC Summit 2022 in late September, Tan said a lot of people across the region don’t have good access to job opportunities and they also face financial constraints. FastCo is evaluating to add value to them by adding financial services to help better their lives.
The company caters to job markets in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
“Today, many people earn their living in ways that do not resemble traditional 9-to-5 jobs. ‘Gig work’ is an emerging trend, in Southeast Asia and globally. We believe FastCo will play a key role in facilitating the growth and success of this new sector for Malaysia where 26% of our local workers already belong to the gig economy,” Amelia Ong, OSKVI executive director and CEO, said.