Romanian startup Beez, a mobile app that ensures customer loyalty through cashback, has announced a new VC financing round totalling €1.2 million, coming from two Romanian investment funds.
Beez, founded in 2018, aims to help educate online shoppers and encourage them to save money when online shopping, via its website and app. The startup has developed a cashback system for shoppers, as well as dabbling in offering interest-free credit through online purchases. In 2019, the startup expanded from Romania to also serve customers in the UK.
Last week, the team shook hands with the RocaX and GapMinder investment funds, with additional support from the European Union which could be seen as an attempt to lessen the blow of Brexit on companies that do business in the UK, as well as other European countries.
If you take a look at Beez’s numbers, this new investment makes sense. After only a year and a half after its founding, Beez has over 160K users and has saved customers over €290K with its cashback programme alone. As of today, Beez offers cashback to its users on every payment mediated by them, online or offline, with the ability to pay for your purchases in 45 days, no commissions or interest added on top.
The substantial funds from this investment round will be used to scale all Beez processes. With the €1.2 million, the marketing budget will be increased, product development will be streamlined and this will allow Beez to grow its customer base. On top, the Romanian startup will use these funds to diversify distribution channels by adding offline payment support.
“We’re glad to see the trust RocaX and Gapminder have in us, who have believed in our progress from the very beginning. Besides their support, we’ve also received funds from other private investors, which validates our path so far, and our expansion plans” says Vasile Tămaș, Beez Co-founder and CEO.
The Romanian startup is already on the lookout for partners to develop an offline solution that will allow the end-user to pay for anything in 4 equal installments, with no hidden costs or commissions.
“We know what we have to do next, and we’re aware of the online shopper’s needs, so we have more planned for our users than a simple cashback system. That’s why we want to increase access for our premium service, Beezpay, and offer the possibility to buy anything without hidden costs. We want to offer an alternative to the classic bank financing method,” comments Lucian Cramba, Beez’s Co-Founder.
This is not Beez’s first rodeo. The Romanian startup had already obtained investments totalling €450K, including 250K raised in and with the latest installment, the company passes €1.6 million in raised investments.
But the company wants more than just fancy numbers. Their mission is to help people all around the globe achieve financial independence faster: “Beez is a Romanian startup that addresses a global problem, the issue of saving to achieve financial independence. We all want prosperity, financial independence, and economic stability, but for most of us it’s very difficult to create the habit and maintain a healthy financial behavior over a long time.”
