Platform Capital, a leading growth markets investor, is pleased to announce its investment in Merge Tech (Merge), a leading South African digital meeting place for entrepreneurs and investors, through its technology vehicle, Unicorn Group. Merge is a transactional marketplace platform that allows start-ups and investors to connect, communicate and collaborate seamlessly. It matches entrepreneurs & start-ups with a network of investors that are best suited to their funding needs; and provides high-quality deal flow to investors through an app and web-based platform.
“Merge creates greater efficiency and access for both entrepreneurs and investors through its innovative technology and design first thinking to enable more meaningful connections and fast decision making on the go,” Platform Capital said.
“The platform creates more opportunity for both the investor and the entrepreneur to interact and engage on a deeper level that results in a higher conversion rate from connection to deal closure based on its mutual interest system to create a match or “merge,”the investor said. “ This is changing the current entrepreneur-investor landscape by creating equal opportunity for all parties to access the market and funding,”it said.
The company currently operates in South Africa and has 1,000+ entrepreneurs, 200+ investors and 300+ ventures funded (“merges”) since its app launch in September 2019. Merge’s goal is to be the leading investment marketplace bringing together a curated selection of the continent’s most promising firms directly into contact with a global investor ecosystem, matching pre-qualified, high-growth companies to international corporate and individual investors.
According to Platform Capital, “the MSME market in Africa is large and underserved with over formal 44 million MSMEs and a $331 billion financing gap, Merge is positioned to solve a deeply entrenched problem by expanding its operations to Nigeria & West Africa in 2020, then across sub-Saharan Africa and into other markets in 2021.”
Leveraging Unicorn’s global network, Merge has partnered with Silicon Valley based firms Aspenify, a leading technology company that is evolving how people work together by automating the process of connecting people, innovating new ideas and performing as a collective virtual team to deliver results; and WhiteSpace X, the first global network of leading accelerators that provides an unrivalled network, infrastructure and access to global markets & investors.
Through these partnerships, Merge plans to support entrepreneurs on their platform by automating the process of innovating new ideas and initiatives and providing expansion into new international markets.
Merge is currently backed by other early stage investors such as Jason Levin, early-stage angel investor and the author of Unicorns, Leapfrogs and Gazelles: Fast-tracking the South African Ecosystem as well as Chris Peters, Founder of Fibre Compare, South Africa’s first fibre internet comparison site. As part of Platform’s investment, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, Chairman of Platform Capital will join the board as Chairman; and Steve Hanney, Founder & CEO of Aspenify will join the advisory board as a technical advisor.
Commenting on the Platform Capital deal, Zander Mathee, Co-Founder, Merge said, “This investment from Platform Capital is the partnership that we have been waiting for. The synergies are unparalleled and the access to international markets will definitely put us in a stronger position going forward. Platform has already taken us to Silicon Valley where they exposed us to its tech ecosystem and deep network; we are now partnering with leading technology companies to accelerate our growth.”
Dr. Ponmile Osibo, Partner, Platform Capital said, “Globally, sub-Saharan Africa has the greatest disparity in finance supply for MSMEs, with a gap 4.5 times the current supply of $70 billion. Merge provides an excellent opportunity to close this gap by providing a level playing field for entrepreneurs in Africa and around the globe to have access to finance.”
“ Democratising access to finance via technology is the next frontier for the investment space and Merge is leading the charge. We are delighted to partner with Zander and Brandon, two young, passionate, and driven entrepreneurs with a knack for problem-solving. We are certain that Merge will become the ‘Tinder’ of investments – matching innovative founders to willing investors.”
Steve Hanney, CEO and Founder, Aspenify said “Aspenify is excited to be teaming with Merge to co-develop the world’s first global hub for Entrepreneurs, Investors and Accelerators to connect, collaborate, innovate and grow together. As joint-partners with Unicorn and Platform Capital we have a bright future together.”
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