SA-based ed-tech, Snapplify, has raised USD 2 million in funding in a bid to step up its growth into the international market and advance its data analytics capabilities to enhance classroom teaching effectiveness.
Snapplify is a marketplace for digital education content, related educational services and devices.
The firm currently serves over 1400 schools and universities, whose 200,000 plus students use its e-learning solutions.
The USD 2 million was raised from venture capital firm Knife Capital, via its SARS section 12J Venture capital company KNF Ventures, and empowered African investment manager Hlayisani Capital’s Hlayisani Growth Fund.
The firm, which is also Africa’s largest e-book aggregator and distributor, will use the funds to on-board new customers and ramp up business development, grow its team and refine customer-led product features.
Snapplify CEO, Wesley Lynch, said, “We are excited to have Knife Capital and Hlayisani on board to enable this vision, particularly because in addition to financial backing, we also need expert guidance from an aligned shareholder base to expand more aggressively into new markets in our next growth phase.”
The firm raised its seed and series A funding from AngelHub Ventures alongside other international investors.
Brett Commaille, a partner at Hlayisani said, “Snapplify is a globally competitive business that has excelled with a powerful and relevant solution for both emerging and developed markets. It is fantastic to build on the platform that was established with the initial investment from AngelHub by bringing investors such as Knife and Hlayisani on board to ensure that Snapplify continues its journey as one of the companies to inspire Africa.”
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Knife Capital co-managing partner, Andrea Bӧhmert, said, “Africa faces a wide range of social and economic challenges, from access to affordable tertiary education to a skills shortage across a number of key industries. Though it would be over-optimistic to say that e-learning alone can overcome these challenges, the impact is clearly measurable.”
She adds, “At Knife Capital we believe in investing in companies that solve real problems and in doing so generate meaningful returns to stakeholders and shareholders alike. Snapplify is such a company and we look forward to being part of the next growth phase.”
Andrea Bӧhmert will join Snapplify’s board of directors.
Snapplify is working towards changing the way students access content across the world, in both developed and developing countries.
The startup has operations in South Africa, Kenya, the Netherlands and the US.
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