Intaba Capital Invests in South Africa’s DigsConnect to Expand Student Housing Solutions To UK, US

DigsConnect, a South African digital platform for student accommodation, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Intaba Capital as part of its ongoing Series A funding round. The platform was launched in 2018 by Alexandria Procter and Greg Ramsay-Keal, and allows landlords, estate agents, and property managers to post their property listings for students to search and filter through to find suitable accommodation and housemates.

Last year, DigsConnect closed a pre-Series A round of funding to expand internationally, with a focus on helping African students in the UK and US secure more affordable, convenient, and safe housing. The startup also partnered with Student.com, the world’s largest student accommodation site, to extend its presence to around 30 new countries and 400 new cities.

Alexandria Procter ceo DigsConnect
Alexandria Procter, CEO DigsConnect

DigsConnect is currently raising its Series A round and has secured funding from Intaba Capital, a Cape Town-based women-led investment and advisory firm founded in 2019. The firm offers consultancy and advisory services, including financial and commercial due diligence, financial analysis, valuations, and assistance with capital raisings, mergers, acquisitions, and disposals.

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According to Procter, the investment from Intaba Capital came about after their work attracted the attention of a US-based charitable organization that wished to invest in their mission. The charity required an extensive due diligence process, which Intaba Capital was appointed to undertake. The team reviewed every transaction made on the platform, dating back to when Procter and Ramsay-Keal were working from a couch in an apartment.

Procter also noted that Intaba Capital assisted their company with financial modelling for their international growth, leading to the formation of an “incredible working relationship”. The investment from Intaba Capital marks the first bite out of DigsConnect’s ongoing Series A round. Procter added that it was rare to find an investment firm run by two extraordinary women, and she had been pitching to investors for almost six years.

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

South African Student Housing Startup DigsConnect.com Secures New Funding 

South African student housing startup, DigsConnect.com, has announced the completion of its Pre-Series A seed extension round, having secured an undisclosed multi-million Rand investment from Launch Africa, Goodwater Capital, Five35 Ventures, and Delta Ventures. The monies will be used to promote worldwide expansion, with a focus on assisting African students with housing in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Alexandria Procter, co-founder and CEO of DigsConnect.com
Alexandria Procter, co-founder and CEO of DigsConnect.com

DigsConnect.com, which was launched in 2018, has experienced 300 percent year-over-year growth since university students returned to campus after Covid. The startup currently lists 1,300,000 beds worldwide.

2018 saw global investments in purpose-built student housing surpass $16 billion. This asset class is resilient and continuing increasing rapidly despite the pandemic, as student enrollment continues to skyrocket.

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Alexandria Procter, co-founder and CEO of DigsConnect.com, says: “The tech startup industry is experiencing a funding winter at the moment, so the fact that we received so much early support from excellent pan-African and US investors speaks volumes about the strength of the team, the value of our strategic partnership with Student.com, our strategy of early profitability, and sound unit economics.”

DigsConnect.com was founded by then 24-year-old student Procter and co-founder Greg Ramsay-Keal to connect landlords with students seeking housing.

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DigsConnect.com was founded by Procter and Ramsay-Keal while they were both student representative council members at the University of Cape Town, after Procter was overwhelmed with requests to help students locate housing. Recognizing this void in the market, they developed the DigsConnect.com solution to replace the country’s outmoded system.

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