Shazam co-founder Dhiraj Mukherjee, who now describes himself as a “tech for good” investor, is among the lead investors in a new, $4m (£3.2m) funding round for Tyneside volunteering app onHand.
The round was led by 24Haymarket and backed by Northstar Ventures, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and Mukherjee, who had previously invested in the company’s £1m, 2022 funding round.
Named “Uber for volunteering” by IBM, onHand helps engage employees with on-demand social impact and sustainability initiatives, complete with tracked CO2e reductions. Set up in collaboration with eight of the UK’s largest charities, onHand makes it simple for employees to connect with opportunities to do good in their local area. It has been used by some of the North East’s biggest employers, including both the Newcastle and Skipton Building Societies.
The new funding will be sued to “accelerate international growth and fuel further product expansion.”
Mukherjee said: “At a time when companies are increasingly putting ESG and impact at the centre of their business to address social, environmental, and wellbeing needs, onHand has delivered a solution with makes it super simple to do good while doing well.”
onHand founder Sanjay Lobo added: “Whilst most companies have some form of volunteering or a social good programme, typically engagement is really low. We solve that by making doing good bite-size, on-demand and based on your exact location with off-the-charts employee engagement results. That’s because the world wants to do good: we’ve just made it so much easier. This raise lets us help businesses everywhere deliver incredible impact.”
