In an effort to better support the rapidly expanding live events market throughout the continent, Ticketmaster, the world’s largest ticket marketplace, has acquired Quicket, a South African startup that developed a pan-African self-service ticketing platform, in 2011.
With the help of Quicket, which was founded in 2011 by James Tagg, James Hedley, and Michael Kennedy, event planners of all sizes can provide their audience with an exceptional ticketing experience, regardless of where they are on the continent.
Quicket, a KNF Ventures-backed company that graduated from the Grindstone accelerator program, has grown its operations into Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Botswana.
In contrast, Ticketmaster dominates the global market for live event ticketing products and services and is the biggest ticket marketplace in the world. It was first introduced in South Africa in 2022 and processes 550 million tickets annually throughout more than 35 countries.
With the acquisition of Quicket, Ticketmaster will be able to grow faster in Africa and provide solutions for venues ranging from small bars to massive stadiums and festivals. The expansion of digital technologies, such as secure encrypted mobile tickets, throughout the continent will be made possible, as more African venues, artists, and promoters will be able to take advantage of Quicket’s local knowledge and Ticketmaster’s worldwide reach and service.
“The passion for live entertainment is at the heart of African culture. Over the past 13 years, we’ve empowered event creators across the continent to deliver exceptional experiences through our ticketing platform. Partnering with Ticketmaster marks a landmark moment in connecting African artists to a global audience and enhancing the experience for local fans and promoters alike,” said Quicket managing director James Tagg, who will continue to lead Quicket as a standalone business unit from Cape Town.
Ticketmaster’s president, Mark Yovich, stated that his company had the “privilege of connecting to the events they love, simply and securely” for some of the world’s most ardent fans, many of whom were in Africa.
“Our commitment to delivering top-tier tools for promoters, venues, and artists is unwavering. Partnering with Quicket will supercharge our mission to elevate Africa’s dynamic live events to the global spotlight they truly deserve. Together, we are igniting a new era of unparalleled growth for African entertainment,” he said.
This was a “special exit,” according to Keet van Zyl, co-founder of Knife Capital and KNF Ventures, for a variety of reasons.
“The founders built a resilient, capital efficient, high-growth African business, and it is awesome of Ticketmaster to recognise that. A great win for the startup funding ecosystem on the continent and another positive data point in building a credible venture capital asset class rooted in returns to investors,” he said.
