Cape Town-based Bloodhound Technologies, a South African radio-frequency identification (RFID) company and producer of real-time location systems, has announced that Convergence Partners, an investment firm focused on the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector and black-owned Altius Investment Holdings, had taken a 40% strategic equity stake in the company.
Bloodhound develops and markets a range of real-time personnel location solutions across a variety of industries which combines radio frequency identification, real-time communication and software technologies to deliver solutions that require no specific infrastructure installation and can be activated immediately. Currently deployed across a number of large strategic locations in southern Africa, the Bloodhound technology is being used at the Cape Town Stadium (2010 FIFA World Cup stadium) and was also selected as the preferred technology platform to track personnel on the Gautrain Rapid Rail Link Project.
Commenting on the investment, Bernard Slabbert, CEO of Bloodhound Technologies, said: “This new capital injection comes at the perfect time in the company’s growth and enables us to further expand our products to take full advantage of the increasing market opportunities in southern Africa. We also believe that our new investors’ focus on the technology sector will enable them to add value to our business at a strategic and operational level.”
The capital raised through this transaction will be invested in further software and hardware development as well as to expand the marketing drive to a broader and larger customer base. Bloodhound has access to cutting edge research and development in the RFID space and will continue to focus on this technology as a key component of its offering to customers.
Other custom applications currently being rolled out include a solution for a major private hospital group that will monitor and track the progress of patients undergoing surgical procedures to enable automated billing and ensure operational efficiency including compliance with service level and hospital policies. In the Western Cape, Bloodhound provides a handheld payment solution for a large-scale parking vending business while, internationally, the company’s research and development team participated in the creation of a complex RFID solution to track tools and other equipment used in critical areas of NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre.
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