Talk360 raises $4 million seed round to build African payment platform
Summary
Calling app raises capital to expand footprint and brand across Africa, and open its payment platform to other merchantsInternational calling app Talk360, which enables people around the world to make reliable and affordable calls to any landline or mobile phone worldwide, has secured $4 million (R64 million) in funding as it prepares to launch a new pan-African payment platform in mid-2022.The seed round of funding was led by leading African venture capital investor HAVA\xcdC, 4Di Capital and several prominent fintech angel investors.While the Talk360 app is seeing rapid growth on the continent, with a growing number of paying users, accessibility has been an issue for the 500 million underserviced people. It will also be opened to other service providers.Talk360 was co-founded in 2016 by South African venture builder Dean Hiine, Dutch entrepreneurs Hans Osnabrugge and Jorne Schamp. The angel investors include several unicorn founders and executives such as Gaston Aussems (ex-Mollie), Robert Kraal (ex-Adyen), Gabriel de Montessuss (President WorldPay International) and Marnix van der Ploeg (ex-Booking.com and EQT). Aussems said Africa was an interesting growth market, with a fast-growing middle class.Through the calling app, Talk360 has already connected many people and is consistently improving the lives of its customers. By creating jobs and micro entrepreneurship opportunities within different communities, we learned how we can help African consumers and businesses connect with their loved ones, said Osnabrugge.