Freelancers who search online marketplaces for contracts may be interested to learn that Elance has just secured funding worth £10.3 million to aid its growth plans.
The global work platform is expecting more businesses to take advantage of the cloud to increase their contingent workforces.
Existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and New Enterpise Associates have been joined by the Stripes Group to provide the capital for expansion.
Elance’s chief executive, Fabio Rosati, said there is a clear structural shift away from the traditional 9-5 office based employment model. Contractors can now choose to work online with several clients and organisations are making it part of their core business strategy to hire online teams. He went on to say that the new investment will help Elance keep abreast of demand and continue to be innovative in its approach to work.
Since 2010, Elance has seen an increase of more than 120% in the number of professionals working through its platform. Furthermore, the company’s European Online Employment Report for 2011 showed the freelance market in the UK is booming with 55% more businesses hiring online.
The UK comes in at number one amongst the European countries hiring online workers, and in the third quarter of last year, it was third worldwide. In the European league table, Germany comes in second place, followed by Switzerland and Holland.
Businesses in London hire the largest amount of contractors through Elance, but the popularity of the site is also growing rapidly in Birmingham, Reading and Edinburgh.
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