CandidateX, a social impact organisation helping diverse candidates through an inclusive job-seeking experience, has secured a seed funding round led by angel investors.
The funding round marks their latest move to become the go-to platform for inclusive hiring for underrepresented talent, with its platform focusing on eliminating hiring biases and creating diversity data insights from candidate funnels.
The funds will be used to accelerate product development and secure foundational integrity across its operations to ensure future scalability. CandidateX’s first product is to launch in the US and Canada in Q2 2022 and then in the UK & Ireland later in the year.
Via a combination of technology enablement, candidate engagement and data insights, CandidateX seeks to solve Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) issues at a “structural and systemic level.”
Their hiring process uses AI-enabled anonymisation technology to redact CVs and remove unconscious biases from the recruitment process. They also provide a platform to allow diverse candidates to engage with company ambassadors and help them assess for affinity with an organisation.
CandidateX will use applicants’ anonymised data to inform an organisation’s DEI strategy and provide impactful data insights which could combat the “culture of uncertainty” among job candidates who fear that diversity data is fuelling bias. Software company Tribepad reveals that 80% of candidates feel that processes would be fairer if recruitment remained anonymous. Only 23.5% believe that their diversity data is being used to benefit their applications.
Ultimately, CandidateX’s offering should help businesses embed DEI into their hiring practices, something that is increasingly expected by job-seeking talent and stakeholders since the rise of social justice movements like Black Lives Matter.
Sunil Dial, CEO and Co-Founder of CandidateX, said: “We are thrilled at finally being able to bring our vision to life! We are very fortunate to have found such committed and visionary investors. We are extremely grateful for their invaluable expertise and support as we move closer to releasing our platform to the market. Having experienced prejudice and bias, both routinely as a Talent Acquisition professional and through my candidate experience – yes, shockingly Simon received more invites to interview than ‘Sunil – we felt obligated to use our knowledge and experience to positively impact the lives of underestimated and underrepresented job seekers.”
Man Wong, Head of Product and Co-Founder of CandidateX, added: “We are building a platform to not only scale but through process automation; creating the systemic change required to accelerate the adoption of equality-driven hiring processes for all inclusion-minded organisations. CandidateX will become the trusted brand that candidates will demand of employers when they seek out their next role.”
