Tastemakers — a travels and tour company based in New York, has secured a $1 million funding in a round led by Precursor Ventures. Tastemakers will leverage the fund to further scale its business that connects Africa adventures to global consumers.
Tastemakers compile prices and also list African travel and cultural experiences for intending tourists who wish to experience the African continent. The company in return generate profit via a 20% commission charged per transaction.
The company will also leverage the fund to scale its services for 200 offered experiences to 10,000. The company will also leverage the funds to build machine learning capabilities that will create seamless match suppliers and experiences.
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CEO and founder of Tastemakers, Cherae Robinson referred to the company as an Airbnb-like site that connects people to Africa travel experiences at scale. She said the company connects a segment of culture-curious travelers to the experience they seek. She also said that there are about 700 million people globally booking culture-forward experiences.
Speaking on revenue, she said, “On revenue potential, Robinson is pretty upfront on numbers and goals. “If we can capture 1% of that 700 million markets in the next five years, $2.2 billion generated on our platform.”
Tastemakers use Stripe and WorldRemit to process mobile payments for transactions on their website. They are in promotional partnerships with Uber Africa. They also count Kempinski Hotels as their biggest lodging partner.
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