R14 million investment to boost SnapnSave's expansion plans.
SnapnSave, a South African cash back coupon app, has received R14 million in investment which will be used to grow the company as they enter the African and Asian markets. Kalon Venture Partners, formerly Grotech, and Smollan Group SA both acquired a minority stake to be a part of South Africa’s fastest growing shopping community, according to the company. Kalon, a venture capital fund and Smollan Group, an international retail solutions business invested R7 million each into the venture.
The startup, founded by Mark Bradshaw, produced a coupon app that gives shoppers cash back on their favourite products, wherever they shop, just by snapping a photo of their till slip. The launch of SnapnSave comes in the wake of a surging global trend that will see over 1 billion people globally expected to use digital coupons by 2019.
“Mobile-based coupons are part of the daily shopping habits of Europeans and Americans. Now we’re seeing this trend emerge in South Africa with over 15 percent of SA smartphone owners already having used a digital coupon. Consumers love saving money and with the state of the economy they are looking at ways to put real cash back into their own pockets,” said SnapnSave CEO Mark Bradshaw.
In just over 18 months, SnapnSave has already given SA shoppers over R3,5m cash back into their bank accounts and is about to reach 200 000 app installs.
The funding will be used to help grow the app downloads to 500 000 in South Africa within a year and will support entry into Asian and African regional markets: Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, as well as Nigeria, Kenya and a North African country. SnapnSave will enter these markets via Smollan’s network which is present in more than 50 countries and provide services to over 500 000 retailers.
“Our till slip technology means shoppers can get cash back wherever they shop simply by taking a till slip selfie. The tech is all enabled without any till point integration that as a result means the product can easily scale into markets without any barriers,” added Bradshaw
Clive Butkow, Kalon CEO speaking on the investment said, “We are excited about the investment and its growth opportunities locally, into Africa and globally.”
The investment forms part of Kalons’ strategy to position itself as the preeminent venture capital company in Africa, investing in disruptive digital technologies solving African problems. This acquisition strengthens Kalon’s commitment to investing in South African entrepreneurs who are disrupting various industries.
Edited By: Dean Workman
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