Globis Capital Partners, the corporate venturing unit of Japan-based global corporate management education business, and GMO Venture Partners, the corporate venturing unit of Japan GMO Internet Group, have co-invested YEN300m ($2.9m) in a seed round of funding for Lancers, a Japan-based crowdsourcing/outsourcing site.
GCP partner Shinichi Takamiya has joined Lancers’ board of directors. The other Globis investment professional managing the Lancers investment is Akihiro Higashi, according to the company’s web site.
Since the service launched in 2008, it has acquired about 140,000 members (crowdsourced/outsourcing workers) and has transacted close to YEN7bn ($68.3m), double the amount it transacted the previous fiscal year. The latest figures show a tremendous growth period for the business, marking the same amount generated in sales in one year comparable to what it generated between 2008 and 2011.
The crowdsourcing sector in Japan is growing in popularity as workers look for new career alternatives when traditionally working for the same company–cradle to grave–does not appeal to them. Other companies in the sector in Japan include Crowdworks, which outsources engineers and designers with job postings. In 2012, Crowdworks raised $3.75m (YEN300m) from Itochu Technology Ventures, Digital Garage and Suneight Investment.