Paris-based startup Iziwork, a digital platform for temporary workers, has raised $43m in new funding — and it says the need for the platform is even more pertinent given the economic crisis facing job seekers. 

The company, founded in 2018, secured the new funding from Cathay Innovation and Bpifrance. It brings the total raised since the company was founded two years ago to $68m.

The platform, currently available in France and Italy, asks job seekers to upload their CVs and indicate their availability. The system then analyses their skills and matches them with available jobs — with 95% of candidates reportedly finding an assignment within four hours.

The company saw the number of employees on its system quadruple between April and December last year, with most workers finding positions in logistics and shipping companies, as well as grocery stores.

Cofounder Mehdi Tahri anticipates the economic effects of coronavirus meaning the appetite for temporary work will only continue to grow.  

“In a context of economic crisis and worsening unemployment around the world, it is more imperative than ever to reinvent our access to employment, particularly for the least qualified workers,” he explains. 

In France, for example, there are now 2.7m people going through temporary work each year, and it’s a market that Iziwork believes could work a lot better for its employees. 

“We are convinced that, thanks to technological innovation, we have a unique opportunity to offer both more work by making access to employment more fluid, but also better working conditions for temporary workers,” says Tahri. 

Employees are given a 10% paid annual savings account and instant deposits when they secure an assignment. 

The company plans to use the funding raised to expand into other European countries, which it declines to name at present. 

Iziwork’s investors at Cathay are convinced that the model could even help France as a whole recover from the economic effects of coronavirus. 

“Iziwork has become the reference platform for temporary workers,” says Jacky Abitbol, partner at the VC firm. “It’s positioning itself as a key player in the economic recovery of France and Europe.”

Freya Pratty is Sifted’s news reporter. She tweets from @FPratty