Stockholm-based Impactpool, an AI-enabled career platform, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $4M (approximately €3.6M) in a Series A funding round led by Mediahuis and Fort Knox.
The company will use the funds to advance its technology and further its goal of placing one billion professionals with organisations dedicated to meaningful change.
Birth of ImpactPool
Founded by Magnus Bucht and Henrik Ryden in 2015, Impactpool is a career platform that connects professionals with job opportunities in the international development, humanitarian, and impact-driven sectors.
Magnus Bucht and Henrik Ryden had worked in recruitment within the sector for 15 years before they started Impactpool with their technical co-founder, Jon.
Both worked for many years for the United Nations, leading international environmental organisations, and Sida, the Swedish government agency working to create better living conditions for people living in poverty and oppression.
The idea came as Magnus and Henrik had seen the enormous interest from talents worldwide who wanted to work for these international organisations, and the lack of a good platform that made it easy to find relevant jobs.
Similarly, when they had been recruiting, they lacked a good platform where they could reach relevant candidates.
“Given the state of the planet, more and more candidates want to have a career where they know they will contribute to sustainability, and we knew that we had the experience to build something that would create high value for both candidates and employers,” says Magnus Bucht, CEO & co-founder of Impactpool in an interview with Silicon Canals.
AI technology behind Impactpool
The Swedish company uses its AI capabilities to offer job listings, talent pools, employer branding, career resources, and personalised job alerts from thousands of international organisations.
Explaining ImpactPool’s technology, Bucht says, “Firstly, we have trained our AI on over 1 million job descriptions from over 2,700 impact organisations for over eight years, so it understands this sector in a way that a “generic” AI would never be able to. Many of the impact organizations have titles, skills, and requirements that other systems do not understand, in addition to the typical jobs within sales, admin, marketing, logistics, etc.”
He continues, “Secondly, with the use of generative AI, we will be launching sophisticated services that will enable both recruiters and candidates to identify skills from a contextual perspective. For example, if you look at the skill of logistics, it is quite different if you have been managing logistics in Amsterdam or if you have been doing it while living in a container in Gaza.”
The company’s platform aims to bridge the gap between professionals seeking meaningful work and organisations striving to make a difference worldwide.
Partnerships, hiring talent, and more
Since its inception, the Swedish company has partnered with major UN organisations, including UNICEF, UNHCR, and UNESCO.
The platform has expanded its reach to connect talent with international organisations such as OECD, the World Health Organization, and the Green Climate Fund, as well as for-profit companies committed to social impact.
“Almost daily, we receive messages from candidates thanking us for making this sector understandable, helping them find relevant jobs, helping them make their applications stand out, and landing their dream jobs. Notably, these messages mostly come from candidates who are applying for positions within the United Nations organisation, which can be quite complex if they are coming from the private sector. Apart from candidate feedback, our long-term recurring customers witness that Impactpool plays a crucial role in filling complex positions,” he explains.
To date, Impactpool has witnessed the registration of nearly one million candidates from 195 countries and its support for over 2,500 organisations worldwide.
Challenges
Since its launch, the company has been actively working to maintain a diverse candidate pool. It means that it aims to cater to individuals who register their profiles and use their services from all over the world, irrespective of their background.
This commitment ensures qualified candidates, regardless of origin and background, have access to opportunities through Impactpool.
“Working with diversity and inclusion can be very challenging and sometimes politically sensitive, but we want to be active in increasing awareness and removing barriers and biases. We work actively to make sure that the site is accessible and develop content that supports all candidates,” he says.
“As diversity and inclusion are priorities for many of our customers, we have been actively working with them to reach out to specific target groups, such as candidates with disabilities, women in tech, candidates from specific countries, and candidates from specific “occupational areas,” he adds.
Future of international development and humanitarian work
Bucht claims that various factors will cause the landscape of international development and humanitarian work to undergo significant changes in the next five years.
“One factor is the shift to remote jobs, which have dramatically increased post-pandemic, even within the UN and international organisations. Another is how AI will affect all jobs in the coming years, with certain jobs disappearing and new jobs that we cannot even think about developing,” he adds.
Another important factor shaping the sector’s landscape is the emphasis on localisation, according to him.
“In international development and humanitarian work, the typical staffing of international operations has traditionally been international experts. Now, most organisations are shifting towards having the majority of their staff locally recruited and only a few international experts,” he continues.
However, Impactpool is very well-positioned for these changes, he claims.
The platform offers specific search options for remote jobs and allows employers to access top talent irrespective of their location.
The company’s AI technology supports both candidates and employers, keeping track of the evolving skill requirements sought by employers.
“Lastly, we have a large talent pool where candidates are open to both local and international jobs. With many other platforms, if you post a job that is based in, e.g., Zambia and is open to both international and local candidates, it will only be matched to candidates in Zambia. On Impactpool, the job will automatically be matched to relevant candidates in Zambia and those who are interested in international opportunities,” he concludes.
What do investors have to say?
Mediahuis is a media group in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Ireland. The group was founded in 2014 as a joint venture between two publishing groups, Corelio and Concentra. With about 4,700 employees, Mediahuis realises an annual turnover of more than €1B. Since its creation, Mediahuis has built a highly diversified portfolio of news media and digital brands.
“We fully support Impactpool’s mission to bring together top talent to address global challenges, aligning perfectly with Mediahuis’ values of creating impact. Impactpool offers an accessible platform for candidates to connect with impact organisations seeking top talent. We greatly appreciate their ability to merge significant impact with robust performance and growth as a company. We look forward to supporting their sustainable journey ahead,” says Patrick De Wachter, Director of Corporate Development at Mediahuis.
Fort Knox is a family-owned company that invests in small and medium-sized companies. Besides capital, Fort Knox helps companies through sector-specific in-depth knowledge and networking.
“Since our investment in Impactpool, the team has delivered beyond our expectations. We are impressed with the work that has been performed, both from a product- and business-development perspective. Together with Mediahuis, we now have another long-term investor who is fully committed to supporting Impactpool’s journey of helping candidates and organizations create a more positive impact,” says Markus Olsson, CEO at Fort Knox.
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