Cape Town based start-up WhereIsMyTransport has announced the completion of its seed funding round and an international expansion, accompanied by the launch of a new international office in London.
While the primary development workshop will remain in Cape Town, the London office will enable WhereIsMyTransport to easily connect with its clients – cities and transit operators around the globe.
“We’ve very proud to be a company that was born and raised in Africa, and our commitment to building solutions that serve developing cities remains unchanged,” says co-founder Devin de Vries. “Having an international base for operations makes it easier for us to reach other cities outside Africa and gives us the resources, credibility and access to venture capital needed to compete on a global scale.”
In addition to the overseas office, the Cape Town headquarters of WhereIsMyTransport have moved from the suburban garage where they began seven years ago, to a new campus in town that can accommodate the rapidly expanding team.
“Leaving the garage was the end of an era – that’s where it all began,” De Vries says. “Our relocation helps mark the new phase of growth and development we’re entering. Both our overseas office, and our new Cape Town offices are part of our transition to a more mature phase.”
The company closed on the oversubscribed Seed Round in July, raising £600 000 (about R12-million) from an impressive range of local and international investors. The funders include private and public institutions with a range of industry expertise. Infotech (part of the Mertech Group, a R3-billion private investment firm) pioneered the development of location-based technology in South Africa. International support came from Horizen Ventures and Goodwell Investments, a Dutch early-stage venture fund, and Wim van der Beek (founding partner at Goodwell) has joined the board of directors. Tom Boardman, former CEO of Nedbank and chairman of Athena Capital, as well as a Kim Fennell, CEO of deCarta, an Uber technologies company, have both made personal investments.
“We’ve been fortunate to have a fantastic group of investors from key industries join us,” says De Vries. “Their added expertise and experience will be crucial as we enter a new phase of product development and international expansion.”
WhereIsMyTransport is one of 13 companies in the Knife Capital Incubator, Grindstone, and is a member of the Microsoft BizSpark Programme.