Cape Town-based fintech company Wealth Migrate has appointed entrepreneur and real estate technology thought leader Justin Clarke as chairman of the board.
Wealth Migrate, founded in 2010 by South African-born fintech and real estate investors Scott Picken and Hennie Bezuidenhoudt, is one of the first global real estate investment platforms to be integrated on the blockchain.
Clarke, who is non-executive director of the company, has over 20 years' experience building global real estate marketplaces and co-founded two companies: Private Property and One Africa Media, it says.
At Private Property, Clarke led the company from inception, through several rounds of funding, to become one of the leading Internet marketplaces for real estate in SA, says Wealth Migrate.
One Africa Media, founded in 2012, is an Internet classifieds business operating across eight countries, it adds.
"We are thrilled that someone of Justin's character and experience has firstly joined the Wealth Migrate board and now also taken on the role of chairman.
"In the first 12 months as a director, he has already had a massive impact and has played a critical role in guiding the company to focus on what is most important for a high growth technology company."
Over the last year, Picken and Bezuidenhoudt have proactively sought to strengthen the Wealth Migrate board with fintech and marketplace experience to complement the team's existing real estate and technology expertise, says the company. Clarke was elected chairman of the board from that lens, it adds.
"The growth Wealth Migrate has seen in recent years has been tremendous. With the focus now on scaling the company, Justin's deep experience in growing technology and marketplace companies will be invaluable," says Bezuidenhoudt.
"This move will also allow me to focus on ensuring the quality and safety of Wealth Migrate's investment opportunities, another imperative to our success."
The founders have executed over 1 790 transactions, with an equity value of $71.4 million, from investors in 44 countries.
Picken previously said the company's goal is to reduce the global wealth gap by democratising access to real estate investment opportunities.
"Our immediate goals are to increase the number of Wealth Migrate members and investors on the platform through global expansion, to improve the technology in order to continue driving the minimum investment amount down, making our platform more accessible to more people. Further blockchain development will allow the company to further reduce costs," he notes.
Clarke was the winner of the 2014 EY World Entrepreneur Award.
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