South Africa’s Skynamo is starting this year on a good note. The field sales app and management platform startup has raised a US$30 million Series A funding round to accelerate adoption of its app and further scale its model internationally.

Here Is The Deal

• This funding round was led by leading US-based software VC Five Elms Capital. 
• Skynamo intends to use the investment to accelerate adoption of its field sales mobile app and cloud-based management platform, while scaling up operations to improve service to its rapidly growing customer base in the US, UK and Southern Africa. 

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Why The Investors Invested

• Five Elms is a US leading investor in software startups based in Kansas City. The VC specializes in partnering with founder-owned, bootstrapped businesses, working alongside management to accelerate growth and continue to build industry leading businesses. The VC exclusively invests in B2B software companies. Its investment ticket is between $4–40 million in companies with $2–20 million in revenues, whether minority or majority stakes. 

“We’ve backed Skynamo because we are convinced it has the perfect combination of strong value proposition and a relentless culture of delighting both customers and employees to become the leader in field sales technology,” said Fred Coulson, managing partner of Five Elms.

One of Skynamo’s strategies in attracting the investment is the fact that the company also has an office in Atlanta United States. In theory, Five Elms has not much history investing outside the United States

A Look At What Skynamo Does

• Formed in 2012, Skynamo is used by representatives and their managers to improve insights into field sales activity, reduce administration, and create coaching opportunities that lead to higher sales.
• The Skynamo platform increases sales rep productivity and effectiveness by digitising paper-based processes, automating administrative tasks, and enabling easy access to customer and product information in the field. 
• GPS technology provides managers with a real-time view of sales activity and sales rep effectiveness in the field, so they can coach their reps remotely. Field sales teams using Skynamo typically double – and in some cases triple – the number of customers they visit per week and increase revenue by up to 20 per cent in the first year.

“Field sales reps have been left out in the cold by the technology industry for far too long,” said Sam Clarke, chief executive officer (CEO) of Skynamo. “By putting all time-saving functionality and accurate information in the palm of their hands via our mobile app, Skynamo transforms sales teams from order-takers to value-adding consultants to their customers.”

• Skynamo serves its customers from its Stellenbosch, Johannesburg, Durban and London offices and has chosen Atlanta as its US headquarters.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.
He could be contacted at udohrapulu@gmail.com