Talk360 is hoping to extend its international calling operations across Africa, after a $4 million early funding round headed by HAVAC, Gaston Aussems (ex-Mollie), Robert Kraal (ex-Adyen), Gabriel de Montessuss (President WorldPay International), and Marnix van der Ploeg were among the angel investors who joined HAVAC (ex-Booking.com and EQT).
Hiine, Hans Osnabrugge, and Jorne Schamp established Talk360 in 2016 as a travel app (used to avoid roaming charges).
However, once social media apps like WhatsApp enabled internet calls, the co-founders were needed to analyze their strategy.
They were created to accommodate those who are technologically marginalized by taking away the demand that the person on the other end of the line has access to the internet or the app.
While predicting further expansion in the calling industry in Africa, Dean Hiine, co-founder and managing director for Africa at Talk360, also predicted significant growth for the company’s payment platform, which he claims will make it easier for international merchants to sell to African users.
He went on to say that the firm decided to establish its own payment platform since it needed to make payment and checkout simple for its African users.
Presently, the firm relies on interfaces with older payment service providers, which are hampered by regional differences.
Hiine claims that his new platform would put all of Africa’s “scattered payment methods” onto a single platform, which he believes will benefit Talk360’s bottom line as well as the bottom lines of other merchants who will utilize it.
Talk360, a leading Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) player in Africa, allows individuals to make international calls for a fee through their app, which is designed such that just the caller requires the app, internet, and a smartphone to make calls.
In 2021, the Talk360 calling app linked 2 million individuals, and it now has to pay subscribers in 170 countries.
This number is expected to rise as the business ramps up its marketing efforts and development ambitions, which include establishing a base in Kenya.
Techbuild’s Take
The emerging pan-African payment system eliminates historical complications, such as the cost of cross-border payments, improves revenue opportunities, and paves the way for more stable and stronger African currencies, all of which are expected to boost intra-African commerce.
Several firms intending to expand across Africa face the issue of developing payment options that are suitable for each region they visit.
The majority of online payment vendors in Africa have services that are restricted to particular areas, which means that businesses must sign agreements with various providers to accommodate the diverse requirements of their users in various countries.
Talk360 is attempting to close this gap by developing a new payment platform that will combine all accessible payment alternatives across Africa. This offering, it claims, will give businesses access to Africa’s biggest stream of localized payment choices.
Users may also buy airtime vouchers from a network of over 750,000 physical points of sale thanks to Talk360’s partnerships with agents like PesaPoint in Kenya and Flash in South Africa. The calling app is widely utilized in markets such as South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Bangladesh.
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