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INDUSTRY, TECHNOLOGY, PRODUCTS and INNOVATION you want to read about

AURA secures R62 million for global expansion

URA, the leading African-based security and medical dispatched from one trusted source with a birds-eye view of the
response marketplace, has secured R62 million in a Series situation. Response times drop from an average of 30 minutes to as
AA funding round, which was led by MultiChoice Group low as one to five minutes.”
(MCG), KLT Holdings and Buffet Investments. This positions AURA
favourably for its global expansion plans. A safer future, secured
AURA is a marketplace that enables anyone to access the closest AURA’s vision is to democratise access to its network and make
vetted private and public security and medical response unit to their emergency response much more accessible, says Pantanowitz.
location - anywhere, anytime - using a connected device. “South “Because we have this scale, we’re able to increase access and
Africa has one of the most advanced private security and emergency improve affordability. Since AURA’s inception in 2016, there are
response industries which has the capacity to ensure safety to a areas previously not serviced by private security firms that now
greater number of people who might not currently have access to have AURA watching over them. The responder application and the
it,” says Warren Myers AURA marketplace ensure that safety emergency units reach users
“AURA enables seamless and affordable ways for anyone faster, eliminating the need for call centres that have been used in
to get immediate and trusted access to both private and public the traditional security sector.”
emergency response resources in an emergency, creating a world The new funding deal presents an incredible opportunity for
where everyone is safe.” AURA is already the leading marketplace AURA to enter new markets with a thorough plan for success, says
of its kind in SA, with over 400,000 active users on its network. Green. “It will ensure that we create marketplace fluidity as quickly
The company expanded to East Africa and the UK earlier this year as possible rather than bootstrapping activities that slow down the
and the new funding deal will see it outpace its already-impressive required traction. This next year will be focused on that growth -
growth trajectory. ramping up operations as seamlessly and efficiently as possible.”
“We are gearing some of the funding towards hiring top talent And it’s just the first step towards our vision of a safer future for
to head up each new region while growing teams in established all, says Myers. “Our hope is to become the central repository for
regions – especially our tech team”, said co-founder Ryan Green. risk data – not only responding to emergencies but to proactively
The result is stronger relationships and value propositions for predict and deal with any type of violent crime, whether on a one-
suppliers at all levels in the marketplace.” on-one scale or the size of a riot. The data is already available to do
“To accelerate the evolution of our ecosystem by offering so, it’s just not centralised. Yet.”
additional value-added services to our customers, we are investing
in scalable and innovative technology platforms like AURA. Not only For more information visit https://aura.services/
does it strengthen our service offering and enhance long-term value
creation for shareholders, but it also drives economic development
and job creation.,” says Calvo Mawela, Group CEO of MultiChoice.

More needed than ever
Covid-19 has exposed the need for a marketplace like AURA, as
general levels of anxiety have increased. The pandemic catalysed the
digital world. “The result is that the global safetech marketplace has
boomed,” says Myers. “We currently have a little more than 50 staff
members and are looking to double in size over the next 12 months.”
Adam Pantanowitz, a co-founder, says there are an estimated
7 000 private security response vehicles in South Africa that only
service two percent of the population. On top of that, these vehicles
are only in service five percent 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. This means that AURA response AURA co-founders (From left): Warren Myers, Ryan Green and
times are reduced because security companies are aggregated and Adam Pantanowitz

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