FOMO Travel joins the Singer Group

SA’s first ‘lay-by’ travel startup, FOMO has recently announced a partnership with the Singer Group’s Embassy Travel through one of their partner groups, Amazing Holidays.

Amazing Holidays is the leisure division of Embassy Travel and is the Singer Group’s online travel agency. Embassy Travel is also the founding shareholder of XL Travel, one of SA’s largest travel consortiums. This gives FOMO Travel access to major buying power, translating into competitive rates, it was claimed in a press release to Ventureburn.

“This is a very exciting era for both Amazing Holidays and FOMO Travel. The Singer Group has been on a growth trajectory for over 20 years now, and this will be our first foray into the fintech space,” said CEO of the Singer Group, Brian Singer in the release.

“With FOMO Travel’s technology and the Singer Group’s decades of travel experience, it is a perfect partnership to ensure the success of this new venture — a venture which is set to disrupt the way travel has traditionally been sold,” Singer continued.

FOMO Travels new partnership will help them greatly expand their business

The initial meeting between FOMO’s founder, Andrew Katzwinkel and the MD of the Singer Group, Lee-Ann Singer, came about when Vuyisa Qabaka, a renowned startup mentor and connector, brought the two together.

Qabaka is also credited for facilitating and navigating the relationship which led to the partner agreement, now sitting on the FOMO board.

“Vuyisa has brought a huge amount of value to the business. He got me into RISE and he’s been a great mentor to me. He kept me going through some very uneasy times and is a great sounding board,” said Katzwinkel.

“Holidays — with family or friends — are an essential ingredient to balance our fast-paced lives. We all need some downtime. With current payment models, the majority of South Africans regrettably cannot afford to pay the full amount upfront for holidays which in turn deters the keen traveller from ever going on their dream holiday,” said Lee-Anne Singer.

“FOMO Travel’s unique lay-by payment solution addresses this problem — and opens the world of travel to millions of people previously excluded. No credit checks and zero interest is payable,” Lee-Ann Singer concluded.

Featured image: Fdecomite via Flickr