Lumkani to extend coverage in Joburg, expand team after closing seed round

Cape Town-based startup Lumkani is set to service more communities in Johannesburg, this after it announced yesterday (7 June) that it had closed a seed round with 4Di Capital, Accion Venture Lab and Lireas.

The social enterprise startup has developed an early-warning device for fires in informal settlements and an insurance product it launched in 2016.

“We are looking to extend deeper into Johannesburg,” Lumkani director David Gluckman told Ventureburn today.

While he declined to comment on the details of the deal, he said the startup is looking to grow its presence in Gauteng. The company currently has an office in Johannesburg.

He added that the startup — which currently employees 15 people — will add “30 agents and seven or so managers”. He and his team will also engage with clients in a bid to improve their insurance offering and tailor it to the needs of clients.

Lumkani has distributed 17 000 of its IoT heat sensors in Johannesburg and Cape Town

In an earlier interview last month, Gluckman — who founded the startup in 2014 with Paul Mesarcik, Francois Petousis, Samuel Ginsberg, Max Basler and Emily Vining — told Ventureburn that the startup’s proprietary early-warning device was now installed in 5000 shacks in Cape Town’s Imizamo Yethu informal settlement.

To date, Lumkani has distributed more than 17 000 IoT heat sensors expanded its offerings to more than 30 communities throughout South Africa.

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