Student.com has increased its stake in South African tech start-up DigsConnect.com.
Student.com initially invested an undisclosed amount in mid-2022, with founder CEO Luke Nolan saying that Africa offers exciting growth avenues for Student.com.
“Finding student accommodation can be a confusing and frustrating process, especially if you’re searching in another country or in another language,” says Nolan. “We have found that DigsConnect.com aligns with our vision of making student properties immediately accessible in a variety of cities at the touch of a button. The relationship between the two companies has gone from strength to strength and together, we’re providing peace of mind to hundreds of thousands of families around the globe.”
DigsConnect was founded by then students Alexandria Procter and Greg Ramsay-Keal in 2018 during their final year at university. They established the early DigsConnect.com site in an attempt to help students access safe accommodation and in the process spotted a gap for a technology solution to the ongoing student housing issues. DigsConnect.com is now believed to be the largest student accommodation platform on the continent.
Nolan says that he’s been impressed by the performance of DigsConnect.com over the past period as well as the energy and results demonstrated by the team in South Africa. “DigsConnect.com is an established name in Southern Africa in the student accommodation space, and we’re excited at furthering our endeavours together over the next year.”
Procter says that the team is now focused on consolidating their position in Africa and the UK, and exploring the US as a new potential market for African students studying abroad.
“It’s been an incredible season for us so far,” she adds. “This last week alone we processed tens of millions of rands in lease value for our landlords through the platform. 2023 is off to a phenomenal start.”