Denis Opudo
For those who have once misplaced their wallets with cards will laud the idea of ProximityID. The company was founded by Dove Halpern and Wayne Gluckman in Johannesburg in 2016. It eliminates the idea of carrying huge wallets with their documents in them. The main aim was to do away with the carrying of unnecessary larger wallets. People used to travel with larger wallets because of the higher number of cards that they had to carry.
The fact that people are now living in a digitized era, carrying of such load is not necessary. Therefore there was a need to use an advance way of engaging and identifying consumers. The only way was to use the existing and emerging technologies. This offers huge insight into the staff, assets, and consumers. ProximityID worked on bringing a digital intelligence experience to the real world scene. It works on linking brands and locations with information about their users. The startup identifies individuals and locations while offering unique insight into trends. It does that by placing Proximity beacons and receivers throughout a given location.
The company offers its services from assets to staff monitoring. Moreover, they analyze the customers and malls. They also offer indoor analysis for public facilities. This helps all users including the visually impaired. Many startups are now using their own infrastructure to get more information about their markets. Proximity takes this a notch higher. It partners with other people who already have a ready infrastructure.
ProximityID got funding from Synthesis Software Technologies who funded its prototype phase. Furthermore, it generated funding from Tirech Media in 2016. This helped it in expanding the business into new customers and markets. Initially, the absorption of the idea was slow due to the fact that the technology used was new. Furthermore, the technology had not been tested before. The company convinced their first customers via the implementation of Proof of Concept. The idea was successful. This led to the growth of the company at a higher speed than expected.
The company’s main focus is now in South Africa. It aims at using the market to improve its skills, technology, and analytics for many market segments. Thereafter it hopes to expand into other markets. This will comer after making sure that they have accuracy in their service delivery. The company had plans to expand internationally. Its main target is either to have one or two markets in Africa. It mainly targets the African retailing sector. Moreover, it intends to launch in one sector in the US. The company makes a profit via its platform as a Service (PaaS). It gets revenue depending on the solution and volume of information the customers require.
