Sporjo, sports-focused online learning, training, and employment firm said on Thursday that it has secured $2 million in a Pre-Series A round-headed by private investor Punit Balan, chairman, S Balan Group & Punit Balan Studios, and other private investors.
Breathe Careers and Consulting Private Limited owns the Sporjo brand.
The money will be used to grow the firm’s product portfolio, improve product experience, scale its staff, and drive expansion across India and in major international markets, according to the company. It will also invest substantially in marketing and raising awareness of sports as a viable career option.
Sporjo was launched in May 2020 by G Srinivvasan, a sports industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in advertising and sponsorship sales positions with companies such as Reliance Sports Group, BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India), and Nike.
He has worked for major sports leagues such as the Indian Super League (ISL) and the Indian Premier League (IPL). To encourage the Indian National Team games, he also handled connections with central sponsors and the presenter.
Sporjo, he claims, wants to bridge the enormous gap between candidates’ skillsets and employers’ requirements in the sports business. The firm now provides courses for grads and above.
“Employers are plagued by skill shortages, a lack of awareness of the sports sector, and exorbitant lead times to locate the appropriate individual. “With occupations in sports expected to expand at a CAGR of 6% by FY24, Sporjo’s genesis was to bridge the gap between applicant and employer by analyzing, training, and finally placing professionals,” Srinivvasan added.
India’s $100 billion sports sector provides 0.1 percent of GDP, compared to the worldwide average of 0.5 percent. This suggests that there is a lot of room for growth. Sporjo Junior is about to open, and the business wants to make sure that schoolchildren understand that sports can be a career option as well as a pastime.
“We’re in the process of forming partnerships with several universities to offer Sporjo as an elective in addition to their normal courses. Even for those who are working, we offer tailored programmes that assist them in navigating a clear meritocratic route in the sports sector. Our main product, Sporjo Mentor, is a three-month intense programme that identifies a candidate’s skills and trains him or her accordingly “Srinivvasan contributed to the conversation.
By 2030, the business wants to build a half-million-person ecosystem to serve the Indian sports sector. It claims to work with over 200 sports enterprises and has put 60 individuals in organizations like the Mobile Premier League (MPL), ISL franchises, Abhinav Bindra Academy, and Sports for All, among others.
“Having sponsored players as well as a few teams over the years, I am intimately aware of the gap that exists in hiring the proper talent,” investor Punit Balan said of the newest financing round. It’s also a good moment to start informing parents, children, and professionals about the various opportunities available in the sports business, and to provide them with a strategic plan and an implementation plans.”
Sporjo had previously raised 2.7 crores in seed funding from private investors including Ajay Candade, ex-director Pvt Equity, KKR and Angel Investor, Sundar Raman, former IPL COO, Pranav Marwah, CEO Marwah Sports, Lydia Buthello, head – Jio World Experiences, and Navin Puri, former retail banking head, HDFC Bank, between February 2020 and January 2021.