South Africa's Talk360 Raises $1.4M in Pre-Series A Round

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALSeptember 16, 2024 at 10:28 AM UTC

TLDR

Talk360, South African international calling app, secures $1.4 million in funding for localization and partnerships.
Co-founded in 2016, the app offers affordable international calls to mobile and landline numbers.
Talk360, present in multiple countries, connected over 4 million users in 2023, with funding led by investor HAVAÍC valuing the startup at $30 million.

South African international calling app Talk360 has secured $1.4 million in pre-Series A funding to localize its service into more African languages and establish additional partnerships with remittance companies, retailers, and brands.

The app, co-founded in 2016 by South African entrepreneur Dean Hiine and Dutch entrepreneurs Hans Osnabrugge and Jorne Schamp, allows consumers to make international calls to any mobile or landline number.

With a presence in South Africa, the Netherlands, India, and Nigeria, Talk360 claims to have connected over 4 million people in 2023. This funding round was led by its long-standing investor, HAVAÍC, which contributed $1 million, and values the startup at around $30 million.

Key Takeaways

Talk360’s smartphone-based platform offers an easy-to-use digital service but its reach is somewhat limited by the fact that over half of Africans still lack access to the internet. Regardless, the startup has recorded impressive numbers, connecting up to 4 million people, and has paying users in 170 countries so far. That number should grow, driven by increased marketing efforts and expansion plans. The company’s network of over 750,000 physical points of sale in partnerships with agents like Kenya’s PesaPoint and South Africa’s Flash also provides physical touchpoints, which is crucial to penetrating markets like Africa.

Venture Capital

Startups

HAVAIC

Talk360

Expansion