About Travelstart
Travelstart is a Travel & Hospitality company based in Cape Town (South Africa) founded in 1999, and was acquired by Etraveli in January 2010. Online travel agency based out of South Africa. Travelstart has raised $40 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including MTN, HarbourVest Partners and Etraveli. Travelstart has completed 4 acquisitions, including Club Travel, Club Travel Group and Jumia Travel. Its website travelstart.com draws about 73 thousand monthly visits. Its focus areas include Consumer, Online Travel, Horizontal and Online Agency.
Company details
Travelstart was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. Operations are conducted as an online travel agency in the tourism sector, where bookings for flights, hotels, and car rentals are enabled across worldwide destinations. Mobile applications for iOS and Android platforms are provided to support user access. Recognition as Africas leading online travel agency was received in 2016 at the World Travel Awards.
- Headquarters Cape Town, South Africa
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsTravel & Hospitality
- Email••••••••
- Website travelstart.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by Etraveli (Jan 2010)
- Total Equity Funding$40M (USD)
in 2 rounds
- InvestorsMTN
& 3 more
- Investments & AcquisitionsClub Travel
& 3 more
- Acquired byEtraveli
(Jan 2010)
Funding Insights of Travelstart
Travelstart has successfully raised a total of $40M across 2 strategic funding rounds. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $40M
- Total Rounds 2
- First Round $40M
(Feb 2016)
- Investors Count 3
All 2 funding rounds of Travelstart with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2019 | Private Equity Round | – | HarbourVest Partners | – | |
| Feb 2016 | $40M | Private Equity Round | – | Amadeus Capital |
4 investors in total: 4 institutional.
Investors in Travelstart
Travelstart has secured backing from 4 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include MTN, HarbourVest Partners and Etraveli.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Private market investment solutions are offered to institutional clients. | 1982 | harbourvest.com | Boston, United States | |
Early-stage deep technology investments are made by Amadeus Capital. | amadeuscapital.com | London, United Kingdom | ||
MTN Group is recognized as a leading telecommunications provider in Africa. | 1994 | mtn.com | Johannesburg, South Africa | |
Hotels, flights, and tours are booked via Etraveli's online platform. | 2000 | etraveli.com | Uppsala, Sweden |
Investor details for Travelstart
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Investments & Acquisitions by Travelstart
Travelstart has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 4 companies. Notable acquisitions include Club Travel, Club Travel Group and Jumia Travel.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online travel agency | travel.jumia.com | Lagos, Nigeria | 2013 | Dec 2019 | •••• | |
Local and international travel services are offered by the agency. | clubtravelgroup.co.za | Cape Town, South Africa | 1987 | Jun 2019 | •••• | |
Provider of club holiday travel packages. This company offers curated travel packages focused on club holidays. They facilitate the booking and arrangement of these trips, handling logistics and potentially offering additional services related to the holiday experience. The focus is on providing a complete and organized travel solution for club holiday vacations. | clubtravel.co.za | Cape Town, South Africa | 1987 | Jun 2019 | •••• | |
Accommodation bookings are provided via an online marketplace platform. | safarinow.com | Cape Town, South Africa | 1999 | Dec 2017 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Travelstart
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- Acquired stakes
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- Complete history
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Timeline of Travelstart
8 dated milestones of Travelstart across 20 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Travelstart is founded.
- Exit Acquired by Etraveli.
- Funding First funding round of $40.0M.
- Acquisition Acquires SafariNow.
- Funding Latest funding round, Private Equity Round,.
- Acquisition Acquires Club Travel.
- Acquisition Acquires Club Travel Group.
- Acquisition Acquires Jumia Travel.
Web traffic of Travelstart
The website of Travelstart (travelstart.com) receives about 72.6K visits a month.
- Monthly visits72.6K
▲ 0.7% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Travelstart. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
cheapflights.co.za | cheapflights.co.za | 100% | #30,735 | – | |
flightcentre.co.za | flightcentre.co.za | 98% | #95,173 | – | |
| geziko.com | 92% | View details | |||
travelnews.co.za | travelnews.co.za | 87% | #956,022 | – | |
| nomadicmatt.com | 81% | #120,708 | View details | ||
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Travelstart
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Related news about Travelstart
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Frequently Asked Questions about Travelstart
Travelstart was founded in 1999 and raised its 1st funding round 17 years after it was founded.
Travelstart is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. It is registered at Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
Travelstart is a funded company, having raised a total of $40M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Private Equity Round of $40M, raised on Feb 2016.
Travelstart was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. Operations are conducted as an online travel agency in the tourism sector, where bookings for flights, hotels, and car rentals are enabled across worldwide destinations. Mobile applications for iOS and Android platforms are provided to support user access. Recognition as Africas leading online travel agency was received in 2016 at the World Travel Awards.
Travelstart has made 4 acquisitions, including Club Travel, Club Travel Group, and Jumia Travel.
Travelstart has 4 investors. Key investors include MTN, HarbourVest Partners, Etraveli, and Amadeus Capital Partners.
Yes. Travelstart was acquired by Etraveli in January 2010.