myPadi, one of nine startups that pitched at the recently concluded Techpoint Build, today announced that it has raised seed funding from EchoVC, a seed and early-stage venture capital firm that invests in technology companies around North America and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Founded in 2016, myPadi is a hostel booking platform that enables students to discover off-campus accommodation through its listings from verified landlords. The platform provides photographs, virtual tours, pricing, amenities, and reviews.
Although the exact amount raised remains undisclosed, Joel Amawhe, the founder says the figure amounts to "five digits in US dollars". According to Joel, the fund will be used to accelerate myPadi’s expansion into more cities, serving more schools, growing the team, and improving their product.
“We are very excited about our investment in myPadi and in a market that has been estimated to be worth $20bn per year," Uche Ogboi of EchoVC remarks. "The inadequate supply of student hostels in universities across Africa has created a great need for off-campus student accommodation and myPadi provides an elegantly organised solution to this problem; we see myPadi as the future go-to platform for all student needs. We believe that the myPadi team, led by the founder Joel Amawhe, is the right team to execute this vision. We wish them all the best and look forward to working together.”
Prior to participating at Techpoint Build, myPadi (formerly Studacom.ng and HostelsVilla.com) was the pitch competition winner at the Startup South 2016 edition. It was also a part of Ventures Platform’s second acceleration programme where it received $20,000 initial funding. Awarded the best e-housing startup of the year (2017) by NITDA, it also represented Nigeria at GITEX 2017 in Dubai and received $5,000 in grant funding plus 3 months business advisory service from Accenture Nigeria, courtesy of the National Economic Summit 2017.
The company has so far listed 5,000 vetted rooms for students in 60+ tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
“It is good to see how far myPadi has come," says Kola Aina, founder and CEO of Ventures Platform. "We think that they are playing in an interesting market and we are excited for them as they reimagine the future of hostel booking for students. We are fully behind the outstanding team at myPadi and the problems they are solving."