Digsconnect
 | |
| Type of business | Technology Company, PropTech, EdTech, Technology Startup, Startup |
|---|---|
| Area served | Cape Town, Johannesburg, Stellenbosch, Pretoria, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, Potchefstroom, East London and Durban |
| Founder(s) | Alexandria Procter, Greg Keal, Brendan Ardagh. |
| CEO | Alexandria Procter |
| Website | www |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | January 2018 |
DigsConnect.com is South Africa's largest student accommodation marketplace[1][2]. Based in Cape Town, the platform was founded in January 2018 by Alexandria Procter, Greg Keal, Brendan Ardagh. DigsConnect had over 3,000 unique users in their first month of launching and over 6,000 in their second month. Since then, it has grown into a fully-fledged business with more than 50,000 rooms listed on its platform[3][4].
History[edit]
DigsConnect was started as a project by Alexandria Procter while she was an undergraduate student at the University of Cape Town. She was elected to the Student's Representative Council, and her portfolio covered off campus student housing[5]. She built DigsConnect as a solution to the perrenial student housing crises that occurs in South Africa, as a way for landlords to list their student accommodation and for students to find accommodation.
Growth and funding[edit]
DigsConnect grew from an excel spreadsheet in the UCT SRC offices, to a platform with over 30 000 visits each month and more than 50 000 beds listed to date. The company raised a total of R12 million in February 2019[6][7][8], which is one of the biggest startup fundraising seed rounds in South Africa to date.
Product and Services[edit]
Students go on DigsConnect.com to find student accommodation across South Africa. They can filter for location, price, room type, NSFAS accreditation. On DigsConnect.com, you can also view the location of your university campus on the DigsConnect.com map, and then find accommodation on the map in proximity to your campus[9].
DigsConnect.com has an internal messaging system, so landlords and students can contact each other directly on the website.
The third user type for DigsConnect.com is the Institution, which is any institution registered with the South African Department of HIgher Education and Training. These are public universities, public colleges, private colleges, TVETs and specialist schools (e.g. cooking schools). Upon request, an institution is given access to The Virtual Res on DigsConnect.com where their off-campus students can form communities in safe living and learning environments[10]
References[edit]
- ↑ "Disruption Is Not a Dirty Word". ReiMag. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- ↑ "Digging Online For Accommodation Space". Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- ↑ Jackson, Tom. "This student-founded SA startup is solving a big student problem". DisruptAfrica. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ↑ Bernado, Carla. "Success for student accommodation site". UCT. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ↑ Walker, Robyn. "Digsconnect: safe student accommodation". UCT. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ↑ "SA student accommodation marketplace DigsConnect raises R12m in funding". Ventureburn. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ↑ "DigsConnect raises R12m in funding". 702. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ↑ de Villiers, James (Mar 18, 2019). "The SA start-up that showered students with cash just got a R12 million injection". Business Insider SA. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ↑ "DigsConnect, a new way to advertise and find student accommodation?". Bizcommunity. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
- ↑ "Get Your Student Accommodation Sorted with DigsConnect". Educonnect. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
External links[edit]
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