Japan-based online skills marketplace Coconala raised ¥1.2bn ($11.1m) from investment and financial services group Fidelity International on Wednesday.
Founded in 2012 as WelSelf, Coconala operates an online platform where users can commercialise their knowledge, skills and experience. The company counts more than 1 million users trading more than 3 million skills on its platform.
Unlike conventional crowdsourcing platforms, the marketplace functions as an e-commerce platform, listing individual skill sets as products, allowing potential buyers to view and purchase them.
The platform is in the process of developing consumer-to-business offerings in addition to the existing consumer-to-consumer services.
Coconala plans to use the funding to build a medium-to-long-term operational strategy to attract a broader user base including freelancers, moonlighters and retirees, solving labour shortages that the country is currently facing.
SMBC Venture Capital, Nissay Capital and Voyage Ventures, respective subsidiaries of financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui, insurer Nippon Life and internet company Voyage Group, participated in a $4.4m round in 2015, as did investment firm Jafco.
The company had also received $1.5m in a 2013 round led by Nissay Capital, featuring marketing companies Opt and Adways, together with Tetsuro Yoshimatsu, chief executive of cosmetic site operator iStyle.
