Talk360, a South African Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) firm, has secured an additional $3 million months after the first closing of its seed round, bringing the total investment garnered in the round to $7 million.
Allan Gray E2 Ventures (AGEV), Kalon Venture Partners, E4E Africa, Endeavor, current lead investor HAVAC, and a number of angel investors, including Tjaart van der Walt and Coenraad Jonker, are among the latest investors in Talk360.
The fresh funds will be used to create a pan-African payment platform next year and expand its VoIP market share. Talk360’s payment platform will integrate “all payment methods” on the continent, resulting in a wide pool of localised payment choices that will make it simple for foreign and local firms to sell to African shoppers.
“The new platform will allow users across the continent to buy products and services using any currency and more than 160 payment methods. It will also be opened to other merchants,” Talk360 said in a statement.
Why The Investors Invested
The startup has generated considerable traction since it was founded. The firm reported that their internet calling software has successfully linked 2.3 million individuals all over the world up to this point in the year, achieving a 167% gain in subscribers and a 130% growth in sales. Over 170 nations, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh, are represented within the app’s active user base.
Read also : Nigerian robo-advisor ComiBlock receives Expert Dojo investment
“We invested more into Talk360 based on its strong progress in the South African market to date, as well as its potential in the rest of Africa. Since our first investment, the company has shown spectacular growth, and a genuine ability to crack the challenge of distribution in Africa. We’ve seen the company convert users to paying customers by offering them relevant services, and making this accessible in an easy, affordable, reliable and trustworthy way,” said HAVAÍC managing partner, Ian Lessem.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Dean Hiine, Hans Osnabrugge, and Jorne Schamp launched Talk360 in 2016. Through its app, the startup’s payment infrastructure allows consumers all throughout Africa to make international calls. Talk360 customers pay for calls, and the platform is designed so that just the initiator requires the software and internet — a smartphone — to initiate calls.
Read also : How Tech Businesses Can Empower South African Entrepreneurs
In a previous interview, Talk360 stated that its decision to become a payment aggregator was influenced by the difficulties it found in introducing digital payment methods, which impacted the bottom line of its internet calling company.
According to Hiine, existing digital payment options in Africa are dispersed, with some involving lengthy and difficult processes, lowering conversion rates.
The firm also offers a network of agents, such as PesaPoint in Kenya and Flash in South Africa, via which consumers may buy airtime vouchers from over 750,000 physical points of sale.
“Our mission is to bridge distance and connect lives by offering reliable, affordable, and easy-to-use digital services, delivered in a localised manner to all communities, particularly emerging countries, so they can connect to the world,” said Hiine.
“But we’re not just solving socio-economic issues: we’re also offering micro-entrepreneurship and income generating opportunities to our growing network of agents across the country.”
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh