Tastemakers raise $1.4 million to take African experiences global

Tastemakers’ platform curates, prices and lists African travel and cultural experiences- from the most bizarre of activities to the more quaint.

Led by Precursor ventures, the New York startup, Tastemakers has raised a $1.4 million seed-round in a bid to connect African adventures to global consumers. The startup generates revenues by taking a 20% commission on each transaction. Community managers in Africa then screen and select experiences that go up on the site.

The CEO of the startup, Cherae Robinson, in an interview with TechCrunch revealed that Tastemakers will use the investment to grow the number of experiences offered from 200 to 10,000 and build out machine learning capabilities to better match suppliers, experiences, and clients.

Robinson likened the Tastemakers experience to that of the Airbnb. She mentioned that it would be useful to connect people from different spectrums to african experiences. “More people are becoming more cultural” she stated in the interview, she recommended it would be best for business to invest in tourism, food, clothing and other distinctive elements of their African culture.

In an interview with TechCrunch, CEO of Precursor ventures, Charles Hudson, stated “I just had a sense that Africa was having a moment, and whether its Black Panther or more startups that have a foot in Africa, that there were more people interested in going to Africa,”. He said this in response to questions about the results of the partnership.

The platform aims to make a profit, but at the same time, with the money raised, wishes to put Africa on the map as a place to enjoy experiences with ease.

Source: TechCrunch