Worker tech start-up Orka has raised £29m to double headcount and fuel growth of its earned wage access product Orka Pay.
The fundraise was a mixture of debt financing from Sonovate and equity funding involving the British Business Bank Future Fund and existing investors, including former UK CEO of Adecco Peter Searle. This takes the total raised by Orka to £31.5m since the company launched in 2017.
The Manchester-based start-up says it will use the funding to double its headcount to 50 in 2021 and invest in its portfolio of tech solutions for shift workers.
Launched last year, Orka Pay enables shift workers at partner organisations to withdraw up to 50% of their wages as soon as they have earned them, providing an alternative to high-interest loans and credit card debt.
Tom Pickersgill, co-founder and CEO of Orka, comments: “The worker landscape has changed dramatically over the past decade. More people are looking for work that fits around their life and want the entire process to be less onerous. Our success since launching proves that there is real appetite amongst businesses and employees for an innovative alternative to the traditional recruitment, onboarding and payment model, saving both time and money.”