Kenyan recruitment startup Fuzu raises $1.88m

Kenyan career development startup Fuzu has raised US$1.88 million in funding to support its business development and expansion to other African countries as well as to Asia.

One-stop career development service Fuzu launched in September 2015 with backing from the Rockefeller Foundation and in partnership with Accenture, looking to allow users to learn new skills and find jobs regardless of their levels of education.

The platform provides career counselling, learning solutions and information about open positions and industry updates, providing support and guidance at different stages of user’s career, while for employers it offers advanced search and recruitment solutions with competence evaluation and algorithm-based ranking to identify the best fitting candidates.

Fuzu has a community of more than 180,000 users in Kenya, and has now raised US$1.88 million in funding from investors including Finnfund, Barona and Polkuni to expand further.

”Youth unemployment is one of the most significant challenges of our time and unless solved will lead to social instability with serious global repercussions. A large part of our users have never received any type of career guidance or participated at professional education,” said Fuzu chief executive officer (CEO) Jussi Hinkkanen.

“Our vision is to provide hope to millions of users with a digital service that continuously encourages them to fulfil their potential and prepares for alternative career paths, from formal employment to entrepreneurship and self-employment.”

Finnfund CEO Jaakko Kangasniemi said if there is significant friction between supply and demand in job markets, large amounts of jobs fail to materialise and people are left unemployed.

“Fuzu eases this friction in places where poorly functioning job markets are a hindrance to development. For example in Kenya youth unemployment is a significant challenge. Fuzu provides job seekers with a possibility to demonstrate their skills and competencies and to find work that suits them,” he said.

“We are truly excited about the confidence and courage demonstrated by Finnfund, Barona and Polkuni in investing in transformation of the job markets, thus improving the opportunities of millions of people in finding their place in the world,” said Hinkkanen.