Africa-focused One Africa Media has raised $10m in additional funding from Australian-based SEEK, the world’s largest online employment marketplace in cash for an additional 6 per cent equity ownership in One Africa Media. Seek first invested in OAM in June 2013.
With this raise, OAM has acquired 100% of Jobberman and BrighterMonday, the two job businesses it invested in earlier in Nigeria and Kenya respectively. OAM owned part of Jobberman but now has 100% of the jobs markertplace present in Nigeria and Ghana. OAM will also be using this cash to expand its property, jobs and cars marketplaces to new markets, and last year it acquired part of BuyRentKenya and a general classifieds in Zimbabwe.
This funds will help One Africa Media expand its marketplaces across Africa and up its operations in markets such as Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe where it is already operational and a market leader.
SEEK’s $10m investment gives it an additional six per cent equity ownership in OAM, and a second presentative on the OAM Board to put its stake in OAM at 30 per cent.
According to SEEK International Corporate Development Director, Ronnie Fink, “SEEK has been pleased with the performance of OAM as it continues to execute on its key strategic objectives of growing market leadership. Our increased investment reflects the confidence we have in the business and we look forward to continuing our work alongside management to build leader businesses in these fast growing markets.”
The firm added that OAM has delivered very strong operational KPI growth and has also begun to see some promising top line growth. Since SEEK’s initial investment the business has been expanding its geographical footprint aggressively.
Update: Technically, this is not an exit for Jobberman. It’s a shares roll-up. Ayodeji Adewunmi told TechMoran, “We are now shareholders at OAM with the deal. So not an exit but just a deal to capture more of the opportunities across Africa. Jobberman is elated to announce a new funding round. OAM the holding company which has Jobberman, Cheki, private property, BrighterMonday among others in it received the funding at a $167m valuation.
Adewumni says him and his co-founders started Jobberman with the vision of being the no. 1 destination for jobs in africa. It’s their move on fulfilling this mission. “We can now go conquer africa while not forgetting to keep Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and with the highest GDP.”