by David Prior
Manchester-based Orka Technology Group has raised £29million in its latest funding round.
The fundraise was a mixture of debt financing from Sonovate and equity funding involving the British Business Bank Future Fund and existing investors, including Peter Searle, the former UK CEO of Adecco. It takes the total raised by Orka to £31.5m since the company launched in 2017.
As well as growing Orka Pay, the start-up will use the funding to double its headcount to 50 in 2021 and invest in its full portfolio of tech solutions for shift workers, which also includes the company’s flagship product, labour-as-a-service platform Orka Works.
HR tech startup Orka raises £29m to scale earned wage access product
Orka co-founders (L-R): James Doyle, Tom Pickersgill , Nick Groves.
HR startup Orka Technology Group has raised £29m in fresh funding to support its earned wage product and drive its UK expansion.
The Manchester-based startup is designed specifically for hourly workers with its labour-as-a-service platform allowing people to find temporary employment.
Last year the startup announced Orka Pay, which allows hourly paid workers to withdraw up to 50 per cent of their wages as soon as they’ve worked a shift. Now it wants to double down on the product and use the fresh funding to fuel its “rapid growth”.