Worker Tech Start-up Orka Raises £29M

Worker tech start-up Orka Technology Group has raised £29million in its latest funding round and will use the capital to fuel the rapid 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.

Tom Pickersgill, co-founder and CEO of Orka, said: “Four years ago we set out to transform the experience of hourly paid workers, who make up 85% of the global workforce. What we’re doing is unique in this sector, and thanks to this funding, we’ll be able to reach many more businesses and their employees in the coming year – and improve the service that we can offer them. 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.”

As well as growing Orka Pay, the Manchester-based start-up will use the funding to double its headcount to 50 in 2021 and invest in its full portfolio of tech solutions for shift workers, which also includes the company’s flagship product, labour-as-a-service platform Orka Works.

Announcement: Worker Tech Start-up Orka Raises £29M