South African mobile marketing startup Mobiz has raised a US$1 million funding round from Kalon Venture Partners to help it sustain its growth.
Launched in 2014 by Greg Chen and Clark Lin, Mobiz is an easy-to-use marketing software platform that allows users to create well-designed and highly-personalised mobile campaigns within five minutes.
The startup has developed proprietary SmartSMS technology, which combines the reach of SMS with the enriched user experience of a personalised web landing page, and has a number of blue-chip, JSE-listed companies among its clientele.
Compared with traditional marketing channels, Mobiz achieves a 400 per cent improved customer engagement rate with 98 per cent open rates and an average of 15 per cent click-through rates. Its ability to do so has seen it record 4X growth since September 2019.
“It’s no longer enough for brands to tell people why they matter. In today’s world of IoT, brands have to prove why they matter to each and every one of their customers. Mobiz believes that personalisation goes beyond your customer’s name and date of birth. With Mobiz you can ensure that your customer experience will be engaging, relevant and appealing,” said Chen.
To maintain and increase this growth rate, Mobiz has secured US$1 million in funding from Kalon Venture Partners. Disrupt Africa reported last year the startup was in the process of fundraising, which funds to be used to consolidate its existing corporate offering and expand further into the large SME market. It forms part of a wider US$2 million round that should be completed soon.
The prior experience and ongoing achievements of Chen and Clark, whose history in the mobile technology space dates back to 2005, was one of the main reasons for the decision to invest, said Kalon chief executive officer (CEO) Clive Butkow.
“Kalon’s team were impressed with the founders Greg and Clark. We believe they exhibit the exceptional traits we look for when investing in the best entrepreneurs driving disruptive technology businesses,” he said.
