South African venture capital firm Imvelo Ventures says it has set aside funding to help back and expand app-based delivery service Quench.
Founded by Capitec Bank and investment firm Empowerment Capital Investment Partners, Imvelo Ventures identifies
and funds promising South African small and medium enterprises in the broad spectrum of financial technology.
Quench provides same-day delivery of groceries, food, medication and alcohol to customers in major centres across SA.
Imvelo says it recognises Quench as a unique fintech solution to the significant spike in SA’s demand for online purchasing since the onset of the pandemic.
According to Quench founder Liam McCreedy, the South African market is hungry to see more e-tailers take the reins in delivering an on-demand multilateral online shopping experience.
“The investment will assist Quench in growing brand awareness and expanding partnerships throughout the country. Our long-term focus remains to ensure growth with our current retail partners, Woolworths, Dis-Chem and Ultra Liquor, along with expanding our restaurant delivery footprint through delivery platform Mr Yum South Africa. More immediately, our attention will be focused on escalating our offering across multiple industries,” says McCreedy.
Quench has seen a transformation over the last year since the first lockdown, growing its on-demand service from the initial alcohol delivery platform to include Woolworths food, restaurant meals for in-home dining and most recently, delivering Dis-Chem goods at store prices.
“To this end, we have expanded our business in offering retailers access
to an online market platform with distribution and customer engagement capabilities as a solution for retaining and attracting customers, understanding consumer needs, building loyalty and enhancing customer service,” adds McCreedy.
In April, Quench will launch a fully-integrated back-end system with a new consumer-facing app for its latest addition “Quench Marketplace”.
The new B2C channel will be created to empower suppliers, manufacturers, wine farms, produce farms and many more like industry players, to sell, advertise and distribute off Quench’s infrastructure directly to the consumer’s door within 24 to 48 hours across SA.
Anton Baumann, executive director at Empowerment Capital and Imvelo Ventures, explains: “The investment backs a highly-experienced, passionate and driven leadership team with a robust and uniquely differentiated technology platform.
“We believe that Quench offers our corporate partners
an attractive investment opportunity which also drives inclusive growth in the South African economy through offering a solution that addresses current problems faced by consumers and society, challenging the status quo.”
Procurement manager at Capitec, Carmen Marais, says globally and in SA, there is much excitement about online shopping and on-demand delivery.
“We are pleased to be actively involved in bringing solutions to consumers’ needs. Through our partnership with Empowerment Capital and Imvelo Ventures, we have invested in tech start-ups that align with Capitec’s purpose and supported initiatives that speak to our idea of cutting-edge innovation and performance.”
