AuthBridge, India’s leading employee background data intelligence firm steps up to become the largest Indian company in employee screening & verification – acquires Bangalore-based Footprints Collateral Services

• Three industries which will drive growth in employee data screening are: Telecom/ Ride sharing & Food Delivery
• AuthBridge screens 10,000 individuals per day
• The top revenue drivers are : On demand economy/ IT and IT Enabled services/ Banking Insurance/ manufacturing

AuthBridge Research Services Pvt. Ltd. – a 13-year-old Indian firm announced the acquisition of – Footprints Collateral Services Pvt. Ltd. from Bangalore and with this has gone on to become the largest Indian Company offering Employee Background Screening Solutions.

This acquisition marks the biggest deal in an emerging and much-desired industry of Background Screening in India, which currently serves only 5-7% of the potential market, which is estimated to be over a billion dollars in market size.

 Given the changing socio-economic dynamics in a country like India, the demand for Employee background Verification Services has witnessed a steady increase across industries and cities and is being demanded and asked for from lowest rung of the employee chain – at driver/delivery boys level to mid-level and going right up to Top level management. However, there is still a huge demand-supply gap that exists, largely due to the fact that most of the market in India is served by an unorganized segment who have little or no technology enablement, as data collected also needs to be controlled and secured by the firms.

Founder and CEO of AuthBridge, Ajay Trehan said, “India is changing and so are the employee-employer dynamics. Companies are operating in an evolved environment where brands and people’s reputation is extremely important and can be tarnished with the slightest misdeed of a single employee irrespective of the designation and thus, it becomes imperative and crucial for all companies and brands to ensure that the people who represent them are in sync with the company’s ethics, vision and comply to them.

When we started out 13 years back, employee screening was a niche concept and today we have a 30% market share of this emerging industry. Clients are at the core of our growth and acquiring Footprints has given us a strategic advantage as it brings with it a highly proficient team, delivery locations and a set of clients which complements our current portfolio and increases our client portfolio to 1000 + across the country.

Sharing his future goals, he said, “This acquisition is a part of our long-term growth strategy of investing in service, scale and technology to become the trust-enabler for the Indian Economy. We believe trust is the real currency driving progress. Just as payment-infrastructure enables transactions, trust-infrastructure enables collaborative interactions and helps business eco-systems to grow. We are building the Trust-Infrastructure for India with our databases, technology, network, customer relationships and scale. We continue to scout for more complementing businesses that can strengthen our capabilities. We will continue to deliver superior financial performance, invest in newer technologies in our chosen areas and set new standards of customer service.”

Col Vijay Reddy, Director & Founder of Footprints said, “As a competitor, we had always admired AuthBridge for its processes. It is just the right kind of organization that could have done justice to our clients and employees. This deal ensures that Footprints’ clients stand to gain hugely from AuthBridge’s industry-leading tech-enablement.”

Commenting on the transaction, Sandeep Thapliyal, MD & CEO, Avendus Finance said, “Mr. Ajay Trehan has built a solid business model in AuthBridge and has been able to capture a large client base through investments in technology which ensure timely delivery of services and cost efficiencies due to automation. His well thought out approach to organic and inorganic growth for future expansion has given us the confidence in his strategy and the financing will help him accomplish the same. Our association with AuthBridge reiterates our philosophy of backing high-quality sponsors and sound business models.”

About AuthBridge

AuthBridge is a leading provider of platforms and solutions that enable trust. Its offerings include instant identity verification, employment background screening, customer screening, partner due diligence amongst many others. The company is now significantly aiding the growth of collaborative consumption in the sharing economy by fulfilling the need for quality and trust metrics while meeting needs of instantaneity. Combining deep process knowledge with technology, AuthBridge has consistently innovated to stay ahead of the curve in over thirteen years of its operations. AuthBridge has successfully built several proprietary platforms for instant verification of identity, education and employment, named ‘iPASS’, ‘Student Services Bureau’ and ‘WorkAttest’ respectively and ‘iBridge’ for employee background verification.

The company has its headquarters in Gurgaon and serves clients in more than 140 countries across a broad spectrum of businesses, including Fortune 500 companies. Its certified to ISO Standards ‘ISO 9001:2015’ & ‘ISO/IEC 27001: 2013’ for QMS & ISMS respectively. Cornell University, an Ivy League institution, has published a case study titled “AuthBridge: Innovating HR Operations in India” on AuthBridge’s technology innovations in the space of employment background screening.

Source: Businesstoday