CompariSure, founded in 2017 by Jonathan Elcock and Matt Kloos, is a conversational commerce platform that allows personalized engagements between companies and users at an infinite scale, driven by data science and machine learning.
Through its chatbot-driven marketplace, the startup distributes financial services products. Its chatbot technology leverages platforms like Facebook Messenger, Moya, and WhatsApp. Since 2017, it has processed over 120 million messages, chatted to more than six million South Africans, and sold over 50,000 policies via chat.
To further facilitate growth, CompariSure has secured a pre-Series A round worth ZAR15 million. The round was led by HAVAÍC and featured 4Di Capital, the latter of which was also part of the investors in CompariSure in 2019 and 2020.
The company is looking to explore growth beyond financial service-related sectors so the funding is aimed to drive the expansion of the startup’s footprint in the South African market.
CompariSure has already launched market research and sales force management, services to assist in call centre automation, and recently launched a skills development and job creation initiative in Strand, Hammanskraal, Khayelitsha, Tembisa, and Daveyton, allowing any individual with a smartphone earn referral commission by driving traffic to its chatbot marketplace.
Speaking about the importance of the investment, Kloos said: “This investment round is a major milestone for us and will allow us the opportunity to keep reshaping the interactions of South Africans online.
The HAVAÍC team brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the table, and we are delighted to have them joining as a board member and shareholder.”
We are equally very grateful for the continued support from our earliest backers 4Di Capital for the follow-on investment which signals a strong and reaffirmed belief in what we are building here at CompariSure, Kloos added.
Principal at HAVAÍC, Kiara Suttner-Tromp, said her firm was excited to have led the round as CompariSure is headed by a solid team of founders, offering a product that is not only cheap to acquire, but also achieving higher conversion rates which is a key value added to companies.
She added that the company is already showing significant traction in the local insurance market, with significant opportunities to grow both horizontally and vertically, and they are glad to be part of the journey and are excited for what the future holds for CompariSure.
Partner at 4Di Capital, Anton van Vlaanderen, said CompariSure had shown tremendous growth since their initial investment, so it was easy making the follow-on investment decision.
Techbuild’s Take
In most countries, especially in Africa, not many companies have direct access to their customers. So the idea behind CompariSure to bridge the gap between companies and users is a solid one.
Companies having access to users or customers give them a significant amount of real data to work with and help them improve.
So far, CompariSure has gotten the attention of major companies, especially in the insurance market in South Africa as they continue to grow.
This new funding is going to be geared toward market expansion into new areas in Africa and we are positive the results will be significant as they (CompariSure) have proven to be good for it.
As a former investor and partner at 4Di Capital, Anton van Vlaanderen, stated that CompariSure’s technology has matured over recent years, and his firm is impressed by the company as they continue to attract top talent to its ranks, especially in crucial positions in senior leadership.
Featured Image: CompariSure Founders
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