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Unitus Ventures Invests in BetterPlace, India’s Leading Safety and Trust Platform

Written by Capria Admin
February 16, 2016

BetterPlace to accelerate technology development, operational capability and geographical presence for offering “Safety as a Service – SAAS”

16th February, 2016. Bangalore, India: Unitus Ventures, India’s most active seed fund supporting startups innovating for the masses, today announced an investment in BetterPlace Safety Solutions, a Bangalore-based digital background verification solution provider aiming to create “A Better Place For A Billion+ Indian Citizens By SAFEPowering Them”.

Founded in 2015 by Uday Singh, currently the Group CEO of SIS Group and Pravin Agarwala, former Global head of Cloud ERP Development at SAP, BetterPlace has created India’s first web service that addresses the ‘trust deficit’ in any form of alliance or interaction between individuals and entities. From verifying the credentials of a potential tenant, to hiring a maid, to fulfilling the workforce hiring requirements of large organizations, BetterPlace aims to provide a trust platform and safety profiles for all citizens and provide safe living solutions for related safety concerns through its web-based service and mobile applications. Since inception, BetterPlace has been working closely with expert advisors on data based security, legal, privacy, and technology to lay a strong foundation for the firm, focusing on the need to address the challenges of safety and security at the mass scale required by businesses across India.

Commenting on the genesis for BetterPlace, Pravin Agarwala said, “The rising incidents of abuse of children in the city schools traumatized all parents. Being the father of two young girls, and a techie, I started to think of a simple technology based solution that could address such issues by a process of continuous and reliable safety solutions. That’s what led to BetterPlace. The trust factor is built around integrity, character and social parameters.”

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BetterPlace technology platform offers multi-point verification across digital and offline channels from a combination of sources including Aadhaar (digital ID) information, digital footprint of an individual, traditional background checks as well as crowd sourcing from social media. Continuous monitoring is enabled by a trust-based system which learns from feedback provided across touch points and location data analytics. When hiring somebody, all that needs to be done is a search by name, mobile number or a valid id and the hirer can view a profile that enables a decision to be made about the potential hire. The platform also allows for users to create profiles which are then verified by BetterPlace.

World Bank estimates that Aadhaar is saving the Indian government about INR 6,700 crore (USD 1 billion) annually by curbing corruption through digital technologies that can promote inclusion, efficiency and innovation. The “ease of doing business” and saving through establishment of trust (both through proactive and deterrent effects) are going to add multiplier effects. Commenting on the BetterPlace solution, Nandan Nilekani, former UIDAI chairman said, “I have always believed in the power of Aadhaar to leapfrog development and transformation of our country. BetterPlace has been able to leverage the Aadhaar platform and utilize it for a broader social need by offering an innovative, integrated and continuous safety as a service offering.”

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Highlighting the growing need for bridging the trust deficit, Uday Singh added “Safety is one of the most important needs of each one of us and yet we compromise on it due to absence of credible technology based solutions. Having observed the industry closely for decades, I believed this is one thing we owe to the fellow citizens. We want to touch every citizen to create a BetterPlace for them. For example, rapid urbanization has led to massive migration from rural to urban cities, in most cases without an identity, which first needs be established for increasing trust levels.”

“We are excited to be working with BetterPlace to support their growth. The firm’s strong technology platform and the underlying data analytics and application tools will bridge a much-needed gap in the safety quotient of the country,” said Unitus Ventures co-founder and Managing Partner, Will Poole. “We see the potential for BetterPlace to enable more efficient access to jobs for blue-collar workers and better prospects for all,” he added.

Over the past few months since its launch, Betterplace has been able to partner with multiple firms including Housejoy, CommonFloor, RoadRunnr, and Swiggy. Most recently, the firm announced former Google India executive and the man behind Google’s Map Maker, Lalitesh Katragadda as a Board member, technology mentor and investor. With the investment from Unitus, BetterPlace will accelerate its technology development, increase operational capability and add geographic presence.

Team profile

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Uday Singh: Co-Founder and Visualizer, BetterPlace, current Group CEO of SIS Group Enterprise
Pravin Agarwala: Co-Founder BetterPlace, ex. Global head of Cloud ERP Development at SAP
Saurabh Tandon: COO BetterPlace, ex. Mu Sigma

About BetterPlace Safety Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

BetterPlace Safety Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is India’s leading firm offering safety as a service to business and individuals through its technology based solutions based out of Bangalore, India.
More about BetterPlace >

About Unitus Ventures

Unitus Ventures is the leading venture seed fund supporting startups innovating for the masses in India. Unitus invests in healthcare, education, mobile & consumer, retail & e-commerce, financial services and agriculture sectors. Founded in 2012, Unitus Ventures is part of the Unitus Group, a premier financial services group operating in India and other emerging markets since 2000. Unitus Ventures is based in Bangalore and Seattle, and is a member of the Capria Network.

More about Unitus Ventures >

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