Johannesburg-based online marketplace for home services Kandua has been wholly acquired by Santam, South Africa’s largest short-term insurer.
Founded in 2014 by Arjun Khoosal and Sayo Folawiyo, Kandua helps anyone who needs work done in their home – from small fixes to major renovations – to find a vetted, background-checked professional.
The startup connects over 40,000 vetted home service companies to customers, and raised a “significant” pre-Series A funding round in July 2021. It has now been wholly acquired by Santam, the JSE-listed short-term insurer with a market share in excess of 22 per cent.
Kandua will merge with Santam’s existing home service offering, Home+, forming a wholly-owned, independent subsidiary of the insurer.
“Kandua’s talent, technology and customer base are valuable assets for our business, as it opens up new avenues for client growth and digital innovation. The business has an established technology and extensive network of customers,” said Gloria Tapon-Njamo, CEO of Santam Partnership Solutions, the Santam Group division focused on building partnerships across industries to develop innovative products, diversify revenue, and expand into untapped market segments.
“Critically, this is a strategic acquisition aimed at accelerating our digital innovation and expansion into new market segments. This acquisition expands the impact that Santam can have on informal artisans and small businesses, through access to training, enabling business growth, job creation, financial inclusion and introducing products tailored for their needs.”
Kandua for Business, a division of the company that specifically caters to retailers and insurance companies, uses technology to make service integration into the value chain transparent and efficient. A number of large retailers and financial services currently utilise the service. Retailers can offer their customers professional installation services together with their purchases of home goods. The insurance solution enables the same efficiency and transparency for insurance claims fulfillment.
“Our vision is to make home service fulfillment seamless and equitable for service providers and the customers they serve, driven by trust and simplicity. We do this by using technology to make marketing and business operations easier for service providers: shortening the distance between having a skill and making a living from it. Being part of Santam accelerates this work,” said Folawiyo, who will continue to serve as CEO of Kandua.
