Local investment app Franc has announced its B2B offering Franc Business.
The announcement follows Franc’s recent seed extension raise of R8-million, which included investment from pan-Africa focused venture capital firm 4DX Ventures.
The capital injection will in part fund their B2B initiative aimed at businesses who want to entrench customer loyalty and their value proposition with a ‘plug and play’ investment and savings offering.
Franc was launched in 2017 by varsity mates, actuary Sebastian Patel and engineer Thomas Brennan, who were frustrated by the complexity and high barrier to entry of existing investment offerings, and concerned by the poor rate of investment among South Africans (less than 8%) outside of retirement products.
“With Franc, consumers can start investing within minutes of downloading the app, and can, if needed, extract their funds within a few days of requesting a withdrawal through the app,” says Brennan, who is also Franc’s CEO.
Many South Africans, from students to doctors, have taken to the app as a first foray into investments and savings for a rainy day. In 2021, customer growth was over 400%.
Now the two founders and their growing team are launching Franc Business which will enable companies to offer quality investment products to their own customers using Franc’s technology and license.
“Franc Business clients can help their customers to start saving or investing immediately, boosting loyalty and value for the business, without the hassle of regulatory red tape and lengthy technical development,” says Patel, who is also Franc’s chief executive officer.
“Partners could also divert a portion of spend into a customer loyalty wallet that will earn more interest than most bank savings accounts,” he adds.
Commenting on his company’s decision to invest in Franc, 4DX Ventures Managing Partner Peter Orth says: “We’re passionate about expanding the opportunity for everyone to save and invest, as it’s a critical component of being able to build wealth over time. We think Franc has an excellent vision for how they will accomplish this in South Africa, and we’re excited to support them.”