UW Ventures and Allan Gray join 4Di Capital by investing in South Africa fintech company
Cape Town-based fintech company, CompariSure, today announced that it has secured venture capital (VC) funding from UW Ventures in partnership with Allan Gray. This latest deal comes off the back of CompariSure’s first external investment deal concluded in August 2019 with 4Di Capital, an early-stage tech VC firm.
“At the time the original deal was concluded, 4Di was eager for us to find another institutional investor to diversify the shareholder base, and we are delighted to now have UW Ventures and Allan Gray on board,” notes Matt Kloos, CompariSure co-founder and CFO.
“In combining 4Di’s deep understanding of insuretech with Allan Gray’s extensive financial services expertise and UW Ventures’ strategic and business support, we feel our investor base could neither be stronger nor more experienced,” says Kloos.
CompariSure was founded in 2017 by CEO Jonathan Elcock, along with Kloos. As a registered financial services provider, the company distributes financial services products via its proprietary chatbot technology that leverages platforms like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. CompariSure has recently also started licensing out its chatbot technology to insurance providers looking to enhance their own digital capabilities.
Having partnered with South Africa’s top insurance providers, including the likes of Sanlam, Old Mutual, and Momentum Metropolitan, Elcock says that CompariSure is “disruption proofing” insurers by bringing them to the forefront of the new digital age. “We conclude over 70% of our sales without human engagement, at all hours of the day and night, and have seen record volumes through the challenging and unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic.
“This growth capital funding has given us significant runway and will allow us to explore new strategic initiatives, such as new product and industry use-cases for our chatbot, as well as opportunities outside of SA,” he adds.
Edgar Loxton, a director at Allan Gray, says CompariSure’s exciting chatbot technology has the potential to create great value for society by dramatically increasing access to insurance and other financial products. “We are excited to be part of the CompariSure team and confident that together we will build a successful business, both in South Africa and abroad.”
“The manner in which financial products are distributed and serviced is entering a new paradigm. CompariSure, with its leading technology platform, is well-positioned to play a substantial role in this transition,” comments Harry Apostoleris, director at UW Ventures. “We’re excited to partner with CompariSure’s dynamic management team and existing investor base in realising the company’s vision, which is to empower people to make better financial decisions and broaden access to quality financial services products.”
UW Ventures intends on supporting CompariSure with its scaling ambitions, including into international markets.
Echoing Loxton’s sentiment is Anton Van Vlaanderen, partner at 4Di Capital. “The first time we saw CompariSure’s chatbot in action, we knew there was something special there. Add to that a dynamic founding duo with big ambitions supported by an excellent team; we believe that CompariSure has what it takes to become a true success story.”
Loxton and Van Vlaanderen will sit on the CompariSure board.
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