Wamly secures second-round investment from SA venture capital firm Knife Capital

Wamly, the one-way video interview software start-up, has secured a second-round investment from South African venture capital firm Knife Capital. Picture: Karen Sandison/African News Agency(ANA)

Wamly, the one-way video interview software start-up, has secured a second-round investment from South African venture capital firm Knife Capital. Picture: Karen Sandison/African News Agency(ANA)

Published Jan 26, 2022

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Wamly, the one-way video interview software start-up, has secured a second-round investment from South African venture capital firm Knife Capital.

The deal sees Knife Capital partner based in the UK Davey Gant joining the Wamly board of directors.

Marnus Broodryk said that Knife Capital does not typically disclose funding amounts in early-stage portfolio companies as it may reveal strategic intent, impact future funding rounds and signal potential competitors.

He said the cash investment will be used to boost marketing initiatives, expand teams and enhance product development.

"The goal is to cement Wamly’s position as the leading software application for recruiters in the local market, as well as to start executing on international expansion plans throughout Africa and beyond," said Broodryk.

Wamly started out as a typical start-up and relied on personal networks and word-of-mouth referrals. During the first three months after launch, it said that it had had less than a thousand interviews but was today doing several thousands a week.

Some of its clients include WeBuyCars, Momentum, Distell, Outsurance, USN, Ampath and many other blue-chip companies.

The one-way video interview software connects great companies to talented people and helps the world hire better people faster. It allows companies to recruit vacant positions without the need for one-on-one interviews, allowing them to interview more people and better candidates, faster. The software allows them to filter through applications quicker, review in their own time, and shortlist the best applicants for future interviews.

Since inception, the tech start-up has established itself as the biggest one-way video interview software provider in Africa and generated good recurring cash flow. It said that with the addition of an experienced partner and increased expansion capital, growth could be accelerated faster.

The cash investment will be used to boost marketing initiatives, expand teams and enhance product development. The goal is to cement Wamly’s position as the leading software application for recruiters in the local market, as well as to start executing on international expansion plans throughout Africa and beyond.

Francois de Wet, founder of Wamly and an industrial psychologist, worked with many high-profile corporates and CEOs. Over the years he noticed that they all had one thing in common, namely that they were highly frustrated with inefficiencies in the recruitment process. This realisation planted a seed for De Wet and in 2018 he started a side hustle, tending to this problem.

When entrepreneur and Shark Tank South Africa investor Marnus Broodryk tried out De Wet’s video interview software in his own accounting firm, he experienced the time-saving benefits. In this he saw the potential to help thousands of companies around the world to experience the same ROI in their businesses.

Broodryk joined De Wet on the Wamly journey in 2020, challenging the very foundations of how the world has always done recruitment and utilising the latest technology to help the world hire better people faster.

“I joined Wamly 18 months ago and I’m so proud of everything we have accomplished as a company. We have a team of 20-plus talented local individuals, have built a world-class product and have received support from some of the biggest names in corporate South Africa,” Broodryk said.

“Knife Capital is our ideal partner for this next growth phase with their deep experience and dynamic approach in taking African companies to the global stage.”

Knife Capital founding partner Keet van Zyl said sometimes venture capital investments just fell into place.

“I have an immense amount of respect for what Marnus has achieved in the South African entrepreneurial space, and when he told me about his new venture, the team behind it and the Wamly growth metrics, Knife Capital just had to take a closer look. We used Wamly for our own recruitment process during the due diligence exercise which underpinned the market opportunity. It has been a seamless journey so far and we are excited about executing on the disruptive growth strategy here,” Van Zyl said.

Broodryk said that their clients were loving the software and saving up to 70% of their time spent on traditional interviews. He said the candidates also loved their experiences. In their after-interview survey, more than 9 out of 10 candidates rated it as a great experience.

The company said that both Africa and South Africa had their unique challenges and as a proudly South African company, they were able to build a product that addressed these challenges which resulted in a beautiful solution loved by all stakeholders.

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