Startup XpressJobs receives Rs. 100 m from Emerging Media

From left: XpressJobs COO Dr. Oshadie Korale and XpressJobs CEO Chathum Henegama receiving the signed agreement from Emerging Media MD Sanjeewa Rajapakshe and Emerging Media Director Tyner Fernando 

Emerging Media, a location-based digital advertising company has invested Rs. 100 million in XpressJobs in exchange of 25% stake of the company. 

The agreement was signed between Emerging Media Founder and Managing Director Sanjeewa Rajapakshe, Emerging Media Director Tyner Fernando, XpressJobs Chief Executive Officer Chathum Henegama and XpressJobs Chief Operating Officer Dr. Oshadie Korale. 

As one of the largest location-based digital advertising companies in Sri Lanka, Emerging Media’s affiliation with XpressJobs aims to further expand the company’s operational capabilities. It will increase visibility for companies advertising with XpressJobs on the 200+ locations that Emerging Media is presently active in. 

Rajapakshe stated: “We were previously competitors, but have merged to attain the full potential of the business venture. We are confident of the technology XpressJobs is working with and envision great progress.” Emerging Media has invested in the following companies previously; Pay Here (a company that helps Sri Lankan businesses to pay online globally), Cooking TV, Emerging Events and Out Of Home Media.  The startup which experienced a 60% increase in revenue from 2018-2019, is constantly searching for innovative ways of filling vacancies. 

Henegama mentioned: “Most recruiters have a website or portal to advertise jobs but not jointly with HR software as we do. Some companies install HR software but the HR teams don’t operate it. Our expertise in both provides results. We are a job site that a company can visit to hire employees from ground staff to a CEO.”

He added: “In expanding our marketing and product development, we engage people from all age groups and socio-economic backgrounds in Sri Lanka, whilst introducing more subscription options which will give client’s customized accessibility and an extensive range of services from XpressJobs.”

Being in operation for only four years, XpressJobs has attracted and retained over 3600 clients such as HSBC, Dialog Axiata, Hemas, John Keells Holdings, Toyota, Huawei, Uber, Softlogic, Nations Trust Bank, KPMG and Pearson. 

XpressJobs lets companies efficiently assess and filter applicants by asking mandatory questions from applicants and has introduced a CV-less application system (in all three languages) for job seekers, an SMS service that is specifically designed to make walk-in interviews more efficient, online timed tests that make the process effective for both the recruiter and the applicant in the hiring process. 

Additionally, XpressJobs uses creative video job advertisements to portray the culture and work lives of the employees which not only stir interest in the job seekers but become successful branding avenues for the companies.  With the site xpress.jobs clocking 800,000 page views per month, the team is working on expanding their services to reach beyond Sri Lanka to the larger South Asian region as well.