By A Correspondent
Viadeo, the professional social network with over 45 million members worldwide, has announced the completion of a large fundraising round of $32 million, split between the French Sovereign Wealth Fund, the Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement, existing institutional shareholders, Idinvest and Ventech, and a pool of new investors including Allianz, Jefferies, the global investment banking firm, and Middle Eastern private funds.
The new investment will allow Viadeo to accelerate growth in Europe and China (with its local brand Tianji), as well as other key emerging markets such as Latin America, Russia, India (with its local brand ApnaCircle), and Africa. This achievement serves as a testament to the value Viadeo brings to its users whether they are managers, corporate professionals, recruiters or entrepreneurs who are its registered users.
With over 45 million members, Viadeo is the world’s second largest professional social network and is growing at one million new members each month. The Viadeo Group comprises of the brands Viadeo, Tianji and ApnaCircle. Viadeo reached profitability in early September 2009, based on its ability to grow and monetize its membership base and due to its robust business solutions for human resources and advertising.
With a clear focus on non-English speaking markets, Viadeo has secured a dominant presence throughout the world emerging as an industry leader in Europe, Latin America and China.
Viadeo’s success is based predominantly on its “multi-local†approach to professional social networks, which focuses on leveraging and honouring the local language, business and culture of its members.
“We’re a global society where critical business connections span multiple languages, geographies and cultures,” said Dan Serfaty, CEO, Viadeo. “We have always been laser-focused on our ‘multi-local’ approach, which goes beyond simple translation and focuses on catering to, and understanding the business and cultural needs of each market. This approach has awarded us tremendous growth and success in both European and emerging markets.”
Viadeo is a professional social network with over 45 million members. Viadeo is used by those who want to: increase their business opportunities; enhance their visibility and their online reputation and manage and develop their network of professional contacts.
Viadeo’s members consist of business owners, entrepreneurs and managers from a diverse range of businesses both start-up and well-established. Every month Viadeo attracts more than 1,000,000 new members.
Tianji (www.tianji.com), a Viadeo company, is the largest professional social networking site inChina serving predominantly mid to upper level professionals. The site has captured the local elite market with graduates of top universities and also aims to serve anyone who is interested in doing business with China.
ApnaCircle (www.apnacircle.com), a Viadeo company, is one of the pioneers in the Indian networking space. It is the leading local professional network inIndia. The site connects the youth and serves a younger demographic with an average age ranging from 25-30. ApnaCircle aims to make the connectivity and networking worthwhile for them.
The Fonds Stratégique d’Investissement (FSI) is a €20 billion sovereign wealth fund. FSI is an equity investor taking minority stakes in French companies of all sizes, both directly or through specialised funds. FSI’s purpose is to invest wisely in selected growing companies that can strengthen the country’s competitiveness.