CompariSure raises R15M in Pre-Series A round lead by local VC firms

South African startup, CompariSure, has raised R15 million ($980 000) from Cape Town based HAVAÍC and 4Di in a Pre-Series A funding round lead by HAVAÍC.

The company is currently exploring growth in sectors beyond financial services and will use the funding to drive the expansion of CompariSure’s footprint in the South African market. Current offerings include services to assist in call centre automation, sales force management and market research.

“HAVAÍC is excited to have led the R15m pre-Series A investment round in CompariSure. Headed up by a strong team of founders, with a product that’s not only achieving significantly higher conversion rates but also more than halving the cost of acquisition, their offering is a key value add to companies selling a product,” says Kiara Suttner-Tromp, Principal at HAVAÍC.

Financial services in many African countries are bypassing traditional infrastructure in favour of mobile centric solutions

“Furthermore, with the company already demonstrating strong traction in the local insurance market and with significant opportunities to grow both vertically and horizontally, we are excited for what the future holds for CompariSure and to be a part of their journey.”

“CompariSure has shown excellent growth since our initial investment in 2019,” comments Anton van Vlaanderen, Partner at 4Di Capital, “so making the follow-on investment decision was an easy one. Not only has CompariSure’s technology matured significantly over recent years, but the company has impressed us by continuing to attract top talent to its ranks, most crucially in senior leadership positions. At 4Di we look to back local entrepreneurs building new solutions with global relevance, and in CompariSure we see a team with a vision and technology to achieve just that.”

Matt Kloos, CompariSure co-founder and CFO adds, “This investment round is an important milestone for us and will allow us to continue reshaping the way South Africans interact online. The HAVAÍC team brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the table, and we are very excited to have them joining as a shareholder and board member. We are also incredibly grateful for the ongoing support from our earliest backers 4Di Capital, whose follow-on investment signals a strong, reaffirmed belief in what we are building at CompariSure.”

Prior to this, CompariSure’s most recent funding round was led by investment from UW Ventures in partnership with Allan Gray in May 2020. 4Di Capital initially invested in August 2019.

Founded in November 2017 by CEO Jonathan Elcock and CFO Matt Kloos, CompariSure is a financial services provider that distributes financial services products via its chatbot-driven marketplace, using its proprietary chatbot technology that leverages platforms like Moya, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. CompariSure acts as a digital broker. Since 2017, CompariSure has processed over 120 million messages and sold over 50,000 policies via chat.

The company also builds white-labelled chatbot solutions for financial service providers, enabling them to sell to new customers and service their existing customers via chat.

Having chatted to over six million South Africans to date, CompariSure aims to bridge the financial and digital exclusion divide in South Africa through chat.

Recently, CompariSure launched a job creation and skills development initiative in Strand, Khayelitsha, Hammanskraal, Daveyton and Tembisa, allowing any individual with a smartphone to drive traffic to its chatbot marketplace, and earn referral commission.

“Over 95% of our users are buying a financial product online for the first time in their lives, a true game-changer in terms of giving every South African access to quality financial services products,” comments CompariSure Founder and CEO Jonathan Elcock.

Says Elcock, “We live in a mobile-first world, chatting is a deeply human experience. Our conversational technology allows personal, one-to-one communication with users at scale.”

“The numbers make it clear – the future of sales and customer service will be driven by conversational technologies,” adds Elcock. “Chat as a medium of engagement is the most preferred channel by the overwhelming majority of consumers, young and old. People choose chat because they want convenience, and nothing is more human and convenient than a simple conversation.”

Read more: Ivory Coast based e-commerce startup ANKA, formerly Afrikrea, raises US$6.2M in pre-Series A

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