MoboFree has raised significant growth funding from Netherlands based eVentures Africa Fund (eVA Fund) to expand its local presence in Lagos and Accra, start new offices in East-Africa and for marketing investments in a move to build and grow a ‘scam-free’ mobile market place, where people can buy, sell and swap products with other trusted people.
eVA Fund also introduced investor Million Monkeys as co-investor in MoboFree, who bring extensive industry knowledge on the table, as they are the founders of online classifieds platforms ‘2dehands’ (second hand goods) in the Netherlands and Belgium, which they recently exited to eBay.
Neringa Kudarauskiene of MoboFree said, “Since we launched MoboFree, the concept quickly went viral, attracting immediate registrations from people that enjoyed the possibility to make online deals in a social and safe environment. We are very exited to have attracted investors like eVA Fund and Million Monkeys to get on board. They not only provide us with a solid financial injection, but also are addinga huge relevant business network and African market know-how to the equation. This investment will allow us to continue and speed upour growth in sub-Saharan Africa and deepen our focus on delivering the most dynamic experience for our users.”
Founded in 2011, MoboFree.com combines a social network and classifieds boards into one integrated place and makes buying and selling online more fun, personal and safe. The platform says it has over 3 million users on its network and generates 65 million page impressions monthly. The raise will help it grow and launch across East Africa and take on other marketplaces like OLX and Safaricom’s MyMarket.
In a press statement to TechMoran Brian Hirmanof eVA Fund said, “Since we started eVA Fund early 2010, we were actively looking for interesting companies in the field of online market places and classifieds to invest in. The strategy of Mobofree to integrate social network elements into classifieds boards, makes buying and selling online more fun, personal and more important safer. We all know that scam in online market places is a big problem. The severe measures MoboFree undertakes to avoid this scam on its platform is something we firmly believe in as a key driver for long term success.”