DigsConnect, SA startup received funding from venture capitalist ‘The Delta’
DigsConnect, a student housing marketplace, has secured capital from worldwide venture builder The Delta as part of its latest round of fundraising.
The DigsConnect platform, which was founded in 2018 by Alexandria Procter and Greg Ramsay-Keal, allows landlords, estate agents, and property managers to post their property listings, with students then searching and filtering through these listings to find an accommodation that meets their needs, as well as other students to live with.
The startup, which raised ZAR12 million (then US $830,000) in March 2019 and received a ZAR3 million (US $200,000) grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation last year, recently entered into an agreement with Student.com, the world’s largest student accommodation site, to expand its presence to approximately 30 new countries and 400 new cities.
“Hundreds of thousands of African students are electing to study abroad, and housing remains one of the primary obstacles for them,” said Procter. “We will be focusing on providing safe avenues to affordable student accommodation for students from Singapore to Berlin to New York City. The Delta’s global operations and networks provide a springboard into many of these locations.”
The Delta has offices in South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Germany, and its portfolio companies include Strove, an employee wellness platform, and Revio, a finance business. The investment in DigsConnect highlighted the company’s aspirations to help later-stage African entrepreneurs wanting to grow up and expand into other areas of Africa or worldwide.
“DigsConnect is a great company, we are excited to have them in our portfolio. I feel that Alex and Greg’s passion for the venture, mixed with the global possibility will make for a great ride,” said Louis Buys, CEO and founder of The Delta.
