Clifftop Colony funds retail intelligence start-up

Perk is lead by Jess Green who sold his previous start-up, UbuntuDeal, to Bidorbuy for an undisclosed amount. Investors include Clifftop Colony and Wendy Völkel, a former senior executive of Woolworths.

"The company helps retailers to understand and engage with their customers much better than traditional methods, such as a flyer in the post-box or an ad in the local paper," says Green. "Firstly it is location-based in that the app detects individual customer activity within the store and secondly it is relevant, based on customers' previous purchase history. All of this makes for a better user experience and increased sales and loyalty for the retailer."

Perk is Clifftop Colony's third investment in a South African enterprise. The company believes in backing and working with selective early-stage ventures with emerging markets growth potential through its global investor network.

"Perk and its highly talented team, is a good example of the kind of high quality entrepreneurship that can be found in the South African market," says Oliver Drews, CEO of Clifftop Colony. "The pools of entrepreneurial capital in South Africa are shallow and hence it is important for us to provide the right structure in terms of deep industry knowledge, investor relations and corporate governance right from the beginning.

"Having Wendy Völkel partner with us as a co-investor in this transaction with her experience and connections within the retail sector is an endorsement of the potential of the business. Including specialists such as her is an integral part of our investment philosophy," he concludes.

For more information on Perk, go to www.perk.co.za or on Clifftop Colony at www.clifftopcolony.com.