Travel marketplace Gummie relaunches site after fresh cash injection

Cape Town-based travel startup Gummie recently relaunched its website and is now keen to expand its operations across South Africa with new partnerships and affiliate programmes. This comes after the company secured seed funding from two undisclosed local angel investors two months ago.

Gummie is behind a curated marketplace for activities and adventures in South Africa. The startup teams up with the celebrity adventurers, sportsmen and award-winning chefs to tailor unique travel experiences. Tourists and adventure-seeking locals can choose from a range of exciting activities such as a Bo-Kaap Cooking Tour, a Cape Town Jazz Safari or a Jozi Urban Hike.

“We’ve relaunched our site so our audience can create more bookings,” Gummie CEO Ksenia Mardina tells Ventureburn, adding that having a mobile-friendly platform is crucial for customer experience.

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Gummie currently has 50 adventure guides (or “Superguides”) on its platform and 1 500 users per month. It also boasts 600 registered users.

“Gummie is busy expanding its stock, meaning that we’re getting new adventures from new partners so that we can cover the whole of South Africa and not just Johannesburg and Cape Town,” she adds. Specifically, Gummie is focusing on covering the Garden Route, Kruger National Park and Durban next year.

The startup has also recently launched its Airbnb Affiliate programme — a concierge service which encourages hosts to connect their guests with Gummie’s special travel offerings. “We’re the first travel company tapping into the Airbnb market,” Mardina says. “We really have high hopes for this strategy.”

The funding will be used to hire more developers and drive Gummie’s marketing campaigns.

Gummie was a finalist in the Seedstars South Africa competition and Sparkup Live this year.