Dubai-based recruitment platform Searchie has raised $2 million in seed funding led by two family offices who have invested in UAE for the first time, the startup announced today.
Founded last year by Sahiqa Bennett and Harvey Bennett, Searchie uses a network of freelance recruiters and its AI assistant to help companies hire for different types of positions. Unlike most of the recruitment platforms in the region who charge a subscription fee for access to their candidate database, Searchie is using a slightly different model.
The startup charges $25-50 for every interview from the employers which also includes psychometric assessments.
It is not clear if employers are supposed to pay any of this fee in advance. Recruitment agencies normally charge a part of the fee as soon as they’re given the position.
Once an employer opens a position with Searchie, their freelancer recruiters source candidates who match the requirements. The candidates are then evaluated by Sarah, Searchie’s AI assistant that evaluates the candidates for their behavior, skills, and even cultural fit for an organization. The startup then presents a shortlist of five candidates to review and schedule interviews.
“Searchie is the first company in the MENA region to use machine learning and video to predict people’s personality and match every candidate to a company based on competency, behaviour, values and needs,” the startup said in a statement.
According to Searchie’s website, its platform enables employers to do everything – from creating a job and tracking its progress to viewing video interviews (with the recruiters) and scheduling the face to face interviews – in one place.
Sahiqa Bennett, co-founder and CEO of Searchie, said, “This round of funding is exciting because it demonstrates the markets appetite for innovation and disruption in the HR and recruitment industry. Our focus on democratizing psychometrics and storytelling gives employers a much richer understanding of their candidates before they invite them for a face to face interview.
Harvey Bennett, co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer, added, “Understanding the inner workings of a candidate before you hire them represents a fundamental change in the risk in human capital. The guesswork required to imagine how a candidate might interact with the company, Manager and team can be mitigated because we understand the core composition of the candidate’s personality. Companies can now make more informed hiring decisions and build more engaged teams.”
The startup plans to use the investment to accelerate their product development plans and grow the sales team.
Update: Searchie’s website has some obsolete information about their pricing. They’re in the process of rolling out a new version. We have updated the story with their new pricing details as received by them.
