IT technology fund Archway Venture Partners has acquired a minority stake in interactive media developer Shift Interactive for R10.7 million. The buy-in will indirectly increase the stake Dimension Data already has in Shift.
A 1997 start-up, Shift develops high-end interactive software and media for multiple digital channels including the Internet, touch-screen kiosks (self-service terminals) and mobile phone platforms.
The new investment forms part of the R200 million shopping spree Archway began at the beginning of the month when it acquired a minority stake in Ncrypt Systems.
At the time of the Ncrypt acquisition, Archway GM Leonard Bruhns told ITWeb that the market could expect a flurry of acquisitions from the venture capital fund which would be announced over the next few months.
DiData, through its subsidiary Protocol Venture Capital, acquired a 20% interest in Shift in October last year. The Archway investment will indirectly up its stake in the company as DiData is a key investor in Archway.
"The company was contracted by MTN to design and develop the strategy for its multi-channel customer offering. Shift ensures that all customer interactions are consistent and back-ended by a common system and that the experience is good no matter how a customer elects to deal with MTN," says Bruhns.
He adds that Shift`s competitive advantage lies in the fact that it understands the convergence of information, communication, commerce and entertainment, and can develop the applications itself locally and export them offshore. "Many of Shift`s new customers are coming from foreign markets and will continue to do so in future."
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