Far Ventures’ achievements since January 2017
- January 27th : FinChatBot raised R1.6m in seed funding from angel investor Richard Marsden to further develop the chatbot platform
- February 6th : Yethu launches the second iteration of their Stokvel management platform in Khayelitsha
- February 11th : Jumpin Rides recruits Managing Director Pauline du Paty, revamps the design and starts an aggressive customer acquisition strategy
- March 14th : FinChatBot signs its first large corporate client, one of the largest insurers in South Africa
- March 31st : FinChatBot wins the Geeks-On-A-Plane & 500 Startups pitching contest hosted by the Silicon Cape initiative
- May 5th : Jumpin Rides acquires its 2,000th user
- May 17th : FinChatBot is part of the 10 top African start-ups invited to pitch at the Innotribe Startup Challenge Africa in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
- May 25th : Far Ventures hosts a panel discussion on the disruptive potential of Artificial Intelligence as a part of BotCon Africa 2017
- June 1st : Far Ventures and its portfolio move to new offices at the vibrant Woodstock Exchange hub
- June 8th : Jumpin Rides chosen by the public at Seedstars Cape Town’s pitching competition
- June 12th : Jumpin Rides acquires its 3,000th user
- July 4th: FinChatBot expands its business prospection in Morocco and Kenya with dedicated sale representatives in charge of selling the chatbot solution to key financial actors
- July 5th : FinChatBot launches a recruitment campaign to strengthen its presence in Johannesburg. If you’re interested in this opportunity, apply online here or shoot us an email with your resume attached at this address
- July 7th : Jumpin Rides acquires its 4,000th user
- July 15th :FinChatBot hires new developers in Johannesburg and Paris
- July 20th : FinChatBot’s Business Developer Nathan Hirsch generates first client leads in Paris. More information coming soon…
- July 28th : Jumpin Rides is invited to pitch at the 6th Green Campus Conference to join directors, students, and experts from across South Africa to discuss environmental issues
- July 31st : Business Analyst Paul Sivac returns to France after having worked with us for 6 months. Thank you for your hard work and dedication. You will be missed!
Our objectives for the coming months are
- To raise R2.5m (~US$200k) seed funding for Jumpin Rides to support and accelerate its growth and become the BlaBlaCar of Africa. We are looking for investors who want to join us on this journey. If you’re interested in this opportunity, please write to romain@far-ventures.com
- To successfully complete FinChatBot’s move to Johannesburg (expected at the beginning of October). We are looking for talented, hardworking people to help us disrupt the financial industry.
Stay tuned for upcoming exciting announcements in the coming months.
Meanwhile, stay fresh.
The Far Ventures team.
