Kenyan survey/research platform mSurvey has secured a US $1-million investment from the Safaricom’s Spark Venture Fund. This fund seeks to help Kenyan based mobile technology startups with great innovation potential.
mSurvey leverages SMS and mobile to reach a wide audience for surveys and research.
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This is the second investment as well as the largest from the Spark Venture Fund to date. Safaricom Spark along with Silicon Valley’s Cross Culture Ventures and the Virgin Group-backed, Caribbean Alpha Angels Network have all invested in mSurvey. The data research company will use the investment to drive M-PESA-related efforts.
“This investment enhances our efforts to leverage mSurvey’s highly-sophisticated technology as a significant opportunity for growth and innovation throughout our network, while also enabling us to interact and engage with our 25 million customers in one-to-one conversations,” said the CEO of Safaricom Bob Collymore. “mSurvey has consistently demonstrated its value to us as clients and now as investors, we see broad potential across a variety of sectors and beyond borders. We are pleased to help fuel a new paradigm of data-driven innovation powered by mSurvey.”
mSurvey has already been working with well-known brands in telecoms, health and academic research such as Safaricom, Harvard University, Acumen and Digicel as well as Airtel and McKinsey & Company.
“As a mobile technology startup, there’s no greater validation on the continent than an investment from Safaricom, a giant in the African telecom market,” said CEO and founder of mSurvey, Kenfield Griffith. “For too long, direct access to emerging world data has been inaccessible, but we are witnessing the power of technology – specifically mobile messaging on our ever-present smart and simple phones –to connect people to local audiences,” he continued. “With Safaricom’s support, we are accelerating our vision of bringing high-integrity data from frontier and emerging markets that inform better decisions and fuels growth, change and transformation.”
Griffith touched on what the investments could mean for the company.
“The unique combination of Cross Culture Ventures, Alpha Angels and Safaricom as our investors strategically positions mSurvey as a truly globally driven and funded startup backed by a diverse set of investors that see our value proposition and understand our vision,” said Griffith. ” We are excited about their support and look forward to creating new markets and opportunity using data as a door-opener to economic growth, entrepreneurship and development.”
Featured image: via mSurvey
