Blog

Image credits: Textkernal

Textkernal, an Amsterdam-based recruitment software firm, announced on Friday that it has acquired Dutch staffing app and portal specialist Akyla.  

The company marks the second step in the international buy-and-build strategy of Textkernel since its management teamed up with Main Capital Partners in October, 2020. 

Salesforce’s report on Dutch workforce’s digital skills

Has the Dutch workforce mastered all digital skills? Find out

Has the Dutch workforce mastered all digital skills? Find out Show Less

Last year, Textkernel acquired US-based AI company Sovren to expand its business across North America and the Asia Pacific.

Why the acquisition?

The acquisition is aimed at helping staffing agencies that are looking for automated and integrated solutions to help them succeed in the tight labour market. 

Akyla’s acquisition will boost the significance of the search & match algorithms of Textkernel, enabling staffing organisations to effectively match candidates and jobs at the right time automatically. 

Moving forward, candidates will have a tailored and suitable offering of potential jobs, a higher degree of job satisfaction, and employee productivity for flex workers while lowering the sourcing costs and efforts of staffing agencies, says Textkernel.

Akyla will work as an operating unit within the Textkernel Group for the immediate future. All the employees, including those holding managerial positions and the founders, will remain with the company. 

Post the acquisition, Akyla and Textkernel serve a combined customer base of more than 2,500 organisations, including staffing organisations, payrollers, corporates, job boards, HR solutions providers, and other participants in the broader HR market.

Akyla: What you need to know

Martin Schievink and Bart van Borssum Waalkes founded the Dutch software company in 1999. Based out of Enschede, The Netherlands, Akyla is a provider of flexible mid-office working platform solutions that enable automated recruitment, selection, and efficient management of flex workers. 

The company offers two solutions,  e-UUR and Xplican, that support customers with the administrative processes associated with managing flex workers, including onboarding, time tracking, time interpretation, digital signing, and supplier management.

Currently, the company employs around 30 people and serves a customer base of more than 200 staffers, payrollers, and HR services providers across the Benelux and Nordics regions.

Martin Schievink, CEO of Akyla, says, “Textkernel is an excellent strategic match for Akyla. We share similar cultures and ambitions to help staffing organisations around the globe with our propositions.”

Textkernel: What you need to know

Backed by Main Capital Partners, Textkernal specialises in semantic recruitment technology that helps companies accelerate the process of matching demand and supply in the job market. 

Founded by Gerard Mulder and Jakub Zavrel in 2001, Textkernel enables thousands of recruitment and staffing agencies, employers, job boards, and others to work more effectively by creating efficiencies in the HR and recruitment process. 

Textkernel is headquartered in Amsterdam, with satellite offices in Frankfurt, Paris, and the United States. 

Gerard Mulder, CEO of Textkernel, says “While exploring the opportunity for cooperation the response to our ideas from customers and partners was nothing but extremely positive. That feedback, combined with our very similar cultures and go-to-market strategy and Akyla’s wish to become more internationally active, strengthened our belief that joining forces will accelerate the growth of both companies significantly.”

Main Capital Partners: What you need to know

Main Capital Partners is a software investor in the Benelux, DACH, and the Nordics. The company has €2.2B under management and invested in more than 120 software companies. It employs 45 people and has offices in The Hague, Stockholm, and Düsseldorf.

Pieter van Bodegraven, Partner at Main and Chair of the Supervisory Board of Textkernel, says, “We strongly believe in putting together driven and passionate entrepreneurs to accelerate innovation for the benefit of their clients. Over the past 20 years, this has been a key value creation driver in the successful organic and buy-and-build growth strategies we have executed together with our business partners. With Akyla and Textkernel, we combine two organisations that are both renowned for their skills and expertise within their respective adjacent domains of the HR ecosystem.”