Two-year old North Queensland mobile workforce start-up, JESI, is the first recipient of regional investment as part of the Queensland Government’s Advanced Queensland initiative, receiving $500,000 in funding under the Business Development Fund.
Advanced Queensland matched the investment amount funded by Future Now Ventures, bringing the total funding to $1 million.
In a glimpse into the future for Australian regional start-ups, JESI is already successfully leading its global operation out of Townsville.
What exactly does JESI do?
Part of the burgeoning work-tech category, JESI is a mobile workforce solution that supports the safe movement of workers tracking and reporting time, date, transport type, local trips or travelling nationally or international. With 60 per cent of the workforce no longer sitting behind a computer, the service is experiencing strong demand within Australia and overseas.
The cloud-based ‘journey management’ software reminds users to check-in upon arrival at their destination and if they fail to do so, an automated alert process is activated and emergency contacts are notified instantly via SMS and email.
The JESI client base includes companies within industry sectors such as Health, Community, Resources, Construction, and Education. The business is now generating international interest from Saudi Arabia, Philippines, Canada, South Africa and USA and last year established a US presence based out of Houston. The business recently secured a Business Partner in Oman to provide Arabic translation, business development and implementation services.
What will JESI use this funding for?
JESI Founder and CEO Joe Hoolahan said the funding injection will allow the business to capitalise on the growing demand for mobile workforce solutions within Australia and overseas.
“JESI is on a powerful growth trajectory and we are at the exciting point in a start-up journey where we need an injection of capital to allow us to scale quickly and capitalise on our offshore opportunities. We are excited to be a cheerleader for the powerful potential of regional start-ups and to also demonstrate that start-ups no longer need to uproot their Australian operations in order to take their operations global.
“We are delighted to be an early recipient of direct investment from Advance Queensland. This fresh approach to Australian capital raising is very much needed at a time when the Australian and Queensland start-up ecosystem is growing at pace. The Queensland Government is kicking some huge goals for Queensland start-ups under the Advance Queensland initiative, which targets not only startups but also companies requiring seed- and early-stage funding, and follow-on investment,” said Mr Hoolahan.
Mr Hoolahan said knowing where employees are located within a workforce that is consistently on the move has and is a significant management challenge.
“With 90 per cent of the workforce having smart devices, JESI replaces traditional people movement boards, excel tracking sheets and call centre response services,” he said.
Journey Management is a familiar term for some industries particularly construction, mining and oil/gas sectors. Fatigue management is a serious consideration within Journey Management processes and JESI aligns with company policies and procedures.
Across other sectors, the introduction of Australian WHS Legislation in January 2014 Managing Remote and Isolated Workers has required organisations to review and implement solutions to achieve compliance.
