Silvertree Internet Holdings, today announced it would be investing $10m [R158M] into new and promising online companies in Africa in 2016. The company made this announcement following the news that it recorded 330% p.a growth for 2015, realizing more than $10m in revenue, thus making 2015 its strongest year since it began operations three years ago.
SIH operates an owner-operator model that focuses on scaling tech and e-commerce companies across small, fast growing niches. Through its B2C e-commerce platforms, which include Healthcart, Faithful to Nature, Click n Compare, Cyber Cellar, and recently-acquired PriceCheck, Silvertree Internet Holdings reached 25 million unique customers in Africa in 2015 ( a 50% increase on the previous year).
SIH Founder and MD, Manuel Koser while speaking about the company’s successes in 2015 said “Our meteoric growth in 2015 has been driven by execution-focused delivery across all of our portfolio companies, as well as a number of company acquisitions that are already delivering positive returns. Our job now is to build on this momentum to maintain our aggressive growth trajectory and cement our dominance in the African e-commerce and price comparison markets”.
In 2015 alone, they invested $5m [R75M] in company acquisitions and business building, and accelerated growth of their brands and new businesses to more than $10M (in revenue). Through the company’s investment arm, Silvertree Capital, 2016 will be investing an additional $10m [R158M] into African entrepreneurs and e-commerce enterprises.
Peter Allerstorfer, SIH Founder and MD ended by saying, “We are not an incubator, we are not a VC – we are in the business of building businesses, through accelerated, highly targeted investment and growth strategies, with proven businesses. We are entrepreneurs who invest in like-minded entrepreneurs. Our search for young, dynamic, hungry talent who want to scale faster and outpace their competitors, will be a key focus for us in 2016”.
SIH is therefore currently in search for top tier talent to invest in and work with in 2016, starting in South Africa, but with an eye on Nigeria and Kenya.
