SA home services marketplace Kandua raises pre-Series A funding round

Johannesburg-based online marketplace for home services Kandua has raised a “significant” pre-Series A funding round to help it expand its product offering and grow further.

Founded in 2014 by Arjun Khoosal and Sayo Folawiyo, Kandua helps anyone who needs work done in their home – from small fixes to major renovations – to find a vetted, background-checked professional.

It also helps independent contractors and small businesses to make a name for themselves and to grow their businesses by helping them find new customers, offering them access to training opportunities, and through providing them with a suite of easy-to-use tech tools such as a website, a quoting and invoicing app, and digital payments.

Unlike traditional directories, Kandua uses algorithmic matching technology and vets, reviews and background-checks professionals before connecting them with anyone who needs their services.

The startup, which has raised seed funding in the past and earlier this year was accepted into Catalyst Fund’s inclusive fintech accelerator, has now raised an undisclosed but “significant” amount of pre-Series A capital from a consortium of investors that include Knife Capital and Allan Gray E-Squared Ventures (AGEV). The investment will enhance business development efforts, expand Kandua’s product offering and solidify profitable growth channels.

“We have been very deliberate in choosing our investment partners to add value at each stage of our startup growth journey,” said Sayo Folawiyo, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Kandua. “We are delighted to welcome Knife Capital and AGEV as equity investors to the business. We are looking forward to executing the aggressive growth strategy enabled by the funding and will look to bring on even more high value partners and funders into the story.”

Keet van Zyl, investment partner at Knife Capital, said Kandua was an exciting investment to add to his firm’s venture capital portfolio.

“The business has grown significantly over the past eighteen months and has now reached a breakout point of scale to ramp up both B2B and B2C activities,” he said.