International Calling App, Talk360 Secures $4 Million in Funding
Talk360, an international calling app that allows users to make dependable and economical calls to any landline or mobile phone in the globe, has raised $4 million in preparation for the launch of a new pan-African payment platform in mid-2022.
Leading African venture capital investor HAVAC, 4Di Capital, and numerous famous fintech angel investors led the seed round of funding.
While the Talk360 app is rapidly gaining popularity across the continent, with an increasing number of paying customers, accessibility has been a problem for the continent’s 500 million unserved individuals. Users can’t buy Talk360 airtime because they don’t have internet banking, or because their local currencies or payment methods aren’t supported.
The new payment platform intends to solve the ongoing issue of inaccessibility by allowing consumers to buy items and services in any currency and with over 160 different payment methods. Other service providers will be able to use it as well.
Dean Hiine, a South African venture capitalist, and Dutch entrepreneurs Hans Osnabrugge and Jorne Schamp co-founded Talk360 in 2016. In 2021, it connected more than 2 million individuals through offices in South Africa, the Netherlands, India, and Nigeria.
“Our objective has always been to bridge distance and connect lives by providing dependable, inexpensive, and easy-to-use digital services offered in a localized manner to all communities, particularly emerging countries, so they can connect to the world,” Hiine added.
Talk360’s ability to overcome the obstacle of distribution in Africa and organic development, according to Ian Lessem, managing partner of HAVAC, was “nothing short of extraordinary,” citing the quality of its product, technology, and leadership team.
Several unicorn founders and executives, including Gaston Aussems (ex-Mollie), Robert Kraal (ex-Adyen), Gabriel de Montessuss (President WorldPay International), and Marnix van der Ploeg, are among the angel investors (ex-Booking.com and EQT). Africa, according to Aussems, is a “attractive growth market” with a rapidly increasing middle class.
Through its fast expanding agent network, Talk360 also hopes to expedite its purpose of creating jobs and reducing unemployment in the regions it serves.
