Johannesburg, 30 May 2001
Cape-based PointBreak Private Equity has taken a minority shareholding of local wireless solutions company Clickatell for an undisclosed sum. This is the first technology company the venture capital firm has invested in since its inception.
Clickatell says the funding will enable it to elevate its business to the next strategic level. The company believes the investment will position its brand and product range to ensure the ongoing globalisation of the business can be sustained, while completing development and solidifying the lead it has taken in the wireless communications market through various planned campaigns.
According to Clickatell, it is a difficult task to find strategic investment in a time when markets are anything but positive towards new ventures. Clickatell believes the fact that its model is scalable was key to the investment happening at this relatively early stage of its business.
"We have a unique revenue model based on actual statistics and sales, with a focus on the generation of positive cash flow and profit," says Pieter de Villiers, MD of Clickatell.
"From here it`s a case of believing in the business model and the market potential. We are fortunate to have PointBreak as part of the team, because they share the vision and add significant financial expertise to our company. We further welcome their approach of active, strategic involvement."
According to PointBreak`s CEO, Rein van Veen: "Clickatell possesses the rare combination of a superb management team with a lot of intellectual capacity and drive, a truly global business model and a unique product offering, making them leaders in their field. They have shown immense tenacity in building their business to its current state and are very focused on delivering cash profits from which to fund the future growth of the business."
Clickatell launched the first phase of its offering in November 2000, and by March this year it had international client registrations from businesses, Web sites and individuals in 182 countries. Registrations currently exceed 60 000.
The first offering enabled businesses to host SMS messaging facilities on their sites, and this gradually grew to a range of products that immediately enable SMS functionality in any shape and form.
Clickatell also offers Application Programming Interface, which can offer database SMS messaging functionality to any Web site or business within a few minutes.
Van Veen says although Clickatell has achieved its current brand awareness without any marketing spend, the new funding will put it in a position to conduct strategic targeted marketing campaigns to increase brand awareness.
Clickatell is entering the second phase of its business model, and hopes to increase its global presence exponentially over the next few months. It also plans to open European and US offices in the near future.
Clickatell can be accessed at www.clickatell.com and PointBreak at www.pointbreak.co.za
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