South African digital employee engagement startup Wyzetalk has secured a multi-million euro equity investment from Dutch firm CNBB Venture Partners, which will be used for a successful market introduction in the Netherlands and to achieve further European growth.
Founded in 2012 by Gys Kappers and Gerhard Pretorius, the Stellenbosch-based Wyzetalk is a digital employee engagement platform that over the last 12 months has successfully deployed with corporates such as Shoprite, Woolworths, Pick n Pay, RCL Foods, Harmony Gold and Impala Platinum.
Disrupt Africa reported earlier this year the company was expanding to the Netherlands on the back of a “momentous” 2019 that has seen it secure major multinational deals, including with major mining firms Anglo American and De Beers.
In the same article we reported Wyzetalk was in the process of closing a multi-million euro equity deal with a Dutch venture capital business, and that has now been revealed as being CNBB Venture Partners.
Kappers said the company had been looking not only for an investor, but also a partner to realise its ambitious European growth strategy.
“We are happy to have found this partner in CNBB. Lucas Brentjens and Arco van Nieuwland have an enormous amount of experience in the European software market, which makes them excellent mentors,” he said.
“Their confidence in Wyzetalk is a compliment, but also confirms that our work matters. Together with CNBB, we will work on further growth, so that even more companies can communicate better, easier and more efficiently with their frontline workforce.”
CNBB invested in Wyzetalk due to its unique value proposition as well as its distinctive target market.
“Wyzetalk’s ability to communicate with large groups of non-desk workers responds to an existing market demand. Especially when it comes to important information such as safety regulations, an always-on communication channel can make all the difference,” said Lucas Brentjens, the firm’s managing partner.
“We are very pleased with our investment in Wyzetalk. The quality of the product, the expertise of the team, and the sound relationship with Gys, give us the confidence in a successful collaboration.”
