Rapidly expanding emergency marketplace Aura secures R62m in funding

10th December 2021

By: Irma Venter

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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Africa-based security and medical response marketplace Aura has secured R62-million in a Series A funding round led by MultiChoice Group (MCG), KLT Holdings and Buffet Investments.

Aura says this funding will boost its global expansion plans.

Aura enables anyone to access the closest vetted private and public security and medical response unit to their location – anywhere, anytime – using a connected device.

“South Africa has one of the most advanced private security and emergency response industries, which has the capacity to ensure safety to a greater number of people who might not currently have access to it,” says Aura CEO Warren Myers.

“Aura enables seamless and affordable ways for anyone to get immediate and trusted access to both private and public emergency response resources in an emergency, creating a world where everyone is safe.”

Aura has more than 400 000 active users on its South African network.

The company expanded to East Africa and the UK earlier this year and the new funding deal will see it outpace its current growth trajectory.

“We are gearing some of the funding towards hiring top talent to head up each new region, while growing teams in established regions – especially our tech team,” says cofounder Ryan Green.

“The result is stronger relationships and value propositions for suppliers at all levels in the marketplace.”

“To accelerate the evolution of our ecosystem by offering additional value-added services to our customers, we are investing in scalable and innovative technology platforms like Aura,” adds MCG CEO Calvo Mawela.

“Not only does it strengthen our service offering and enhance long-term value creation for shareholders, but it also drives economic development and job creation.”

Covid-19 Boost
Covid-19 has exposed the need for a marketplace such as Aura, as general levels of anxiety have increased, says Myers.

The pandemic also catalysed the digital world.

“The result is that the global safe tech marketplace has boomed. We currently have a little more than 50 staff members and are looking to double in size over the next 12 months,” notes Myers.

Another cofounder, Adam Pantanowitz, says there are an estimated 7 000 private security response vehicles in South Africa that service only 2% of the population.

On top of that, these vehicles are only in service 5% of the time.

“Aura allows the seamless connection of people in distress, whether it’s safety or medical distress, with our network of responders,” says Pantanowitz.

“We aggregate emergency response companies and, through our technology solution, we’re able to dispatch responders to any distress signal, anywhere in the country. This signal can come from a smartphone, a Bluetooth device or any Internet-connected device.

“The marketplace uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to hone its system and ensure that the closest responders are dispatched to a distress call,” he explains.

“This means that Aura response times are reduced because security companies are aggregated and dispatched from one trusted source with a bird’s-eye view of the situation. Response times drop from an average of 30 minutes to as low as one to five minutes.”

Aura says its vision is to democratise access to its network and make emergency response much more accessible.

“Because we have this scale, we’re able to increase access and improve affordability,” says Pantanowitz.

“Since Aura’s inception in 2016, there are areas previously not serviced by private security firms that now have Aura watching over them.

“The responder application and the Aura marketplace ensure that safety emergency units reach users faster, eliminating the need for call centres that have been used in the traditional security sector.”

Opportunities Unlocked
The new funding deal presents an opportunity for Aura to enter new markets with a thorough plan for success, says Green.

“It will ensure that we create marketplace fluidity as quickly as possible rather than bootstrapping activities that slow down the required traction. This next year will be focused on that growth – ramping up operations as seamlessly and efficiently as possible.”

“And that’s just the first step towards our vision of a safer future for all,” notes Myers.

“Our hope is to become the centre repository for risk data – not only responding to emergencies, but to proactively predict and deal with any type of violent crime, whether on a one-on-one scale or the size of a riot. The data is already available to do so; it’s just not centralised. Yet.”

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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