HBD catches SA Cab

By Paul Vecchiatto, ITWeb Cape Town correspondent

Johannesburg, 21 Sep 2007

Mark Shuttleworth's HBD Venture Capital has snapped up a R10 million stake in taxi operator SA Cab, as it eyes the firm's call centre technology and predicts 2010 will be a boon for the local transport sector.

Eben van Heerden, HBD portfolio manager, says the call centre was one of the key elements that attracted his firm's interest.

"There is a definite value in call centres and we spotted that in this company. The other element is, naturally, transport, because that will be a big issue when the 2010 World Soccer Cup kicks off," he says.

Sports personality Gary Bailey has said that about 350 000 visitors are expected in the country in 2010. Gartner telecommunications analyst Will Hahn said at the recent ITXpo conference that transport would be the biggest problem to sort out before the event begins.

Van Heerden says HBD will probably have a shorter investment horizon with SA Cab than some of its other projects.

"We will probably try and realise our investment once the physical World Cup event gets under way," he says.

SA Cab's call centre software, Diplomat Navigator, enables cellphone activation to track metered taxicabs on the system.

"We looked at what was happening in the UK, Australia and US in how taxis are run," says SA Cab CEO Craig Robinson. "The call centre is essential and the software that runs it allows for the regulating and management of people and the vehicles.

"The software checks the vehicles every time they pass through some kind of booth (checkpoint) and measures if the vehicle has been serviced and properly licensed," Robinson says.

He says SA Cab has 31 of its own taxis controlled by its call centre and there are another 24 taxis owned by independent operators around the country. Three people man the call centre on a 24-hour basis.

The SA Cab investment was made from HBD Fund2 - the firm's second venture capital fund. This fund targets early stage ventures that have been generating revenue for at least six months.

So far, the HBD Fund2 has taken stakes in EDH, Incubeta and Fundamo. Van Heerden says at least another three investments will be made.