South Africa’s CompariSure Raises $980k Pre-Series A Funding

South African conversational commerce startup allowing personalized engagements between companies and users, CompariSure, has raised $980 K in a pre-Series A funding round to help it expand the usage of its chatbot technology.

The round was led by  HAVAÍC and featured 4Di Capital. The startup plans to use the funding to drive the expansion of its footprint in the South African market.

CompariSure is an independent life insurance comparison platform launched in 2017 by Jonathan Elcock and Matt Kloos to provide users and companies with multiple life quotes from South Africa’s most established and trusted life insurers.

CompariSure adopts a conversational commerce interface that allows companies to have personalized engagements with users at an infinite scale, driven by machine learning and data science. The startup distributes financial services products via its chatbot-driven marketplace, using its proprietary chatbot technology that leverages platforms like Moya, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.

Through its chatbot-driven marketplace, CompariSure has processed over 120 million messages, chatted to more than six million South Africans, and sold over 50,000 policies via chat since 2017.

“This investment round is an important milestone for us and will allow us to continue reshaping the way South Africans interact online. The HAVAÍC team brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the table, and we are very excited to have them joining as a shareholder and board member. We are also incredibly grateful for the ongoing support from our earliest backers 4Di Capital, whose follow-on investment signals a strong, reaffirmed belief in what we are building at CompariSure,” Kloos said.

Kiara Suttner-Tromp, principal at HAVAÍC, expressed excitement about the investment while also noting CompariSure’s horizontal and vertical growth potentials.

“Headed up by a strong team of founders, with a product that’s not only achieving significantly higher conversion rates but also more than halving the cost of acquisition, their offering is a key value add to companies selling a product.

“Furthermore, with the company already demonstrating strong traction in the local insurance market and with significant opportunities to grow both vertically and horizontally, we are excited for what the future holds for CompariSure and to be a part of their journey,” said Kiara.

Anton van Vlaanderen, the partner at 4Di Capital, said: “Not only has CompariSure’s technology matured significantly over recent years, but the company has impressed us by continuing to attract top talent to its ranks, most crucially in senior leadership positions. At 4Di we look to back local entrepreneurs building new solutions with global relevance, and in CompariSure we see a team with a vision and technology achieve just that”.