It is turning into a rather big week in terms of local and African technology companies securing funding, with the latest being Clickatell.
For those unfamiliar with Clickatell, it delivers chat commerce functionality for businesses looking to embrace more digital solution, with the company founded in Cape Town and now based out of Silicon Valley.
As for the funding in question, it has secured $91 million in oversubscribed Series C funding.
Unpacking what it plans to do with the funding, Clickatell has outlined three specific areas:
- Accelerated development and innovation of its Chat Commerce offering.
- Expansion of its footprint in the US.
- Scaling of sales and marketing efforts on the back of growing demand from leading brands.
It also looks like skills development, specifically within the African continent is another area that Clickatell will be focusing this year.
“The new capital will also allow the company to significantly grow its engineering skills. It has already earmarked over 200 positions with a strong focus on boosting its African skills complement in the coming months,” the company explains in a press release sent to Hypertext.
“We look forward to working with businesses and financial institutions across the continent to enable Chat Commerce, the future of digital commerce and engagement. Soon, every consumer in Africa will engage family and friends via chat plus connect, interact and transact with the brands they love through their favourite chat platform,” adds Pieter de Villiers, co-founder and CEO at Clickatell.
With ecommerce booming as a result of the pandemic, it will be interesting to see what the uptake of Clickatell’s services will be in the coming months, as this latest round of funding certainly looks to have given it a launchpad to expand significantly.
