MobieTrain raises €1.8 million from new capital round
MobieTrain, a start-up that develops mobile and microlearning software, has received a €1.8 million capital injection from Limburg investment company LRM and the Concentra Media Group. A number of existing shareholders and management are also participating in the investment round. And two major banks, including BNP Paribas Fortis, are supplementing the capital with a bank loan.
The young company was named Limburg Start-up of the Year in 2019, and is now shifting up a gear. ‘Our app and team are ready. The new capital will allow us to accelerate our growth trajectory. Following our impressive start with some significant major customers in 2019, this new capital means we can ramp up our sales and marketing efforts even further. We’re planning to expand our home market initially, but we’ve also built a commercial partner network abroad and are aiming to continue our growth there. We have around 20 paying customers in 13 countries already, and are focusing our attention on Northwestern Europe for our next step,’ says CEO Guy Van Neck.
MobieTrain is investing some of the capital injection in opening an office in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, where some of the technical development takes place. Seven employees will start work there soon.
Success in retail
The MobieTrain app allows companies to design very individualised and dynamic learning paths for their employees. Organisations can use the intelligent microlearning platform to share new information with personnel, or refresh their knowledge at a rhythm that suits them, in a mobile, flexible, user-friendly and effective way. Thanks to its short courses of five to ten minutes, ‘microlearning’ is the most effective form of training for increasingly mobile employees.
MobieTrain is also aiming to break into the hospitality and care sectors, among others, through partners such as Beekeeper, SAP, Speakap and Spencer. The start-up is currently particularly active the retail sector, with customers such as Diesel, Proximus, Timberland and Vans already using the app to quickly inform their teams about new collections or sales techniques.
Importance of ‘customer service’
‘Physical shops are already disappearing from the high street under pressure from e- commerce. But successful brands are managing to combine offline and online sales, and increasingly using physical stores as an ‘advice point’. Good customer service is crucial in this model, and we’re making sure that MobieTrain can fulfil this need and give our clients a competitive advantage. We’re planning to use artificial intelligence more and more in our app in the future, so we can personalise our learning trajectories even further,’ says co-founder Mireille van Hemert-Schelling.
‘We strongly believe in the potential of MobieTrain to meet businesses’ needs to provide employees with information quickly and efficiently via a digital and personal application. This perfectly matches our vision to invest in promising enterprises, even with other parties also coming on board,’ says Tom Aerts, Head of Investments at LRM.
