Student.com Expands Stake in South African Startup, DigsConnect
The biggest online marketplace for student housing, Student.com, has announced an expansion in its shareholding in the South African digital housing startup, DigsConnect.com. The announcement follows an undisclosed investment from Student.com to DigsConnect last year.
The founder and CEO of Students.com, Luke Nolan, believes that Africa has great opportunities for business expansion. Finding student housing, according to Nolan, may be a challenging and tedious process, particularly if students are looking for homes in a different nation or language.
DigsConnect.com, in his opinion, is consistent with Student.com’s goal of making student housing instantly available in a number of cities at the push of a button. The DigsConnect platform, which was launched in 2017 by Alexandria Procter, Brendan Ardagh, and Greg Keal, allows landlords, real estate agents, and property managers to list their available properties. In order to discover housing that meets their needs and locate other students to live with, students can search and filter through these postings.
Since its official launch in 2018, DigsConnect has developed into South Africa’s top marketplace for student housing. They have connected countless roommates and tenants who are also students, as well as landlords and tenants.
DigsConnect.com’s performance over the previous year, as well as the enthusiasm and accomplishments shown by the South African team, have all impressed Nolan. According to him, DigsConnect.com is a well-known brand in Southern Africa for student housing, and his firm is eager to advance our joint efforts over the coming year.
According to Nolan, the collaboration between Student.com and DigsConnect.com is an important step in the improvement of student housing around the world. The demand for accessible and secure student housing is always growing due to the expanding student populations around the world.
DigsConnect’s co-founder, Procter, said that the company is currently concentrating on strengthening its position in Africa and the UK while also looking into the US as a possible market for African students studying abroad.
“It’s been an incredible season for us so far,” she said. “This last week alone we processed tens of millions of Rands in lease value for our landlords through the platform. 2023 is off to a phenomenal start.”
DigsConnect.com is expected to grow as a result of Student.com’s strategic investment in it, opening up additional chances for students to find convenient, affordable housing. DigsConnect.com is already Africa’s largest platform for student housing, thus the relationship with Student.com is expected to further solidify their position in the industry.