Brands/Products
Freshworks Hits $100m in Annual Recurring Revenue
By Dipo Olowookere
Global leader in customer engagement software, Freshworks, has announced reaching a revenue milestone by crossing $100 million in annual recurring revenue, led by its flagship support product Freshdesk (Customer Support Software) and continued rapid growth with its Freshservice (IT Service Management Software) and Freshsales (CRM Software) products over the last several quarters.
This achievement was fuelled by Freshworks’ ever-expanding user-base of more than 150,000 businesses and organizations world-wide, including both larger enterprises such as Honda, Bridgestone, Hugo Boss, University of Pennsylvania, Toshiba, Cisco, Veeva, OfficeMax, M&C Saatchi and thousands of global SMB customers.
Over the past year, the company has also expanded its portfolio of products to include Freshchat, Freshcaller, Freshmarketer and Freshteam, a set of products designed to work together to help marketers, human resources and support professionals engage with customers and work together more effectively.
On the heels of this milestone, Freshworks also announced the immediate availability of Freshworks 360, a fully integrated cloud bundle that brings together sales, marketing, and support applications to provide users with a full, easy-to-use customer engagement experience. Products contained within Freshworks 360 include Freshdesk, Freshsales, Freshmarketer, Freshcaller (call center software) and Freshchat (customer messaging software), providing an easy way for users to access the entire history of customer conversations, data and marketing touchpoints such as chats and social media mentions. Current users of any Freshworks application can now access free trials of all the platform’s offerings from their existing Freshworks login using the Freshworks Switcher.
“For too long, small business and many enterprises have been left out in the cold when it when it comes to customer engagement software,” said Girish Mathrubootham, co-founder and CEO of Freshworks. “Sales, marketing and customer support professionals have been forced to use bloated, siloed CRM and support systems, while HR and IT have been beholden to bulky products with unnecessary features and exorbitant price tags. While we are thrilled to announce this new revenue milestone, we are on a mission to put easy-to-use business software in the hands of the people who need it and Freshworks 360 is a major step in helping us do exactly that.”
“The Freshworks 360 platform allows us to serve customers more quickly and is far easier to use than the traditional CRM systems we’ve used in the past,” Brian Engles, Director of Partnerships at Facilitron. “Products like Freshdesk and Freshchat have helped our SLA achievement and customer satisfaction scores jump over 20% since we began using them and put Freshworks 360 at the heart of our customer engagement strategy.”
“Forward-thinking vendors in the CRM space like Freshworks aim to support organizations strategically moving to cloud-based operations. Businesses no longer build solutions around single business functions like support, sales or marketing, but rather focus on excellent end-to-end experiences for their customers” says analyst Esteban Kolsky of ThinkJar, an advisory and think-tank focused on Customer Strategies. “These vendors are helping build the right platform-based solutions to generate engagement with their customers while optimizing operations.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
To make finding the right service provider or reaching the right customer seamless, popular local information portal, Connect Nigeria, has introduced a Quote Request platform.
Connect Nigeria described the new system as “a digital solution designed to make connecting with service providers faster, easier, and more reliable.”
It said the Quote Request was built for consumers who need services quickly and want trusted options without the stress of searching endlessly; and service providers and businesses looking for real, high-intent customers without spending heavily on marketing.
“Whether you need a caterer for an event, a plumber for your home, or a designer for your brand, the platform is designed to connect you with the right people,” Connect Nigeria added.
“By connecting demand directly with supply, the platform creates a more structured and dependable marketplace,” it further stated.
At its core, the Quote Request simplifies the entire process of finding and offering services.
To use the service, users have to submit a request describing the service or product needed, which is then sent to verified vendors on the platform. Interested providers respond within 1–2 days, and users compare offers and choose what works best for their needs and budget.
“Instead of searching for vendors, the vendors come to you, with relevant, tailored responses,” Connect Nigeria explained.
The company expects this new platform to eliminate the stress of endless online searches, delayed or vague responses, and uncertainty about service quality.
As for businesses, it solves poor visibility, inconsistent customer flow, and lost opportunities due to slow response times.
Connect Nigeria Quote Request mobile app is now available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An institutional investor, First Ally Capital, has strengthened a leading Nigerian financial technology company, Mathesis Analytics, to scale its proprietary credit decisioning infrastructure.
It made this possible by injecting fresh capital into the firm, which specialises in AI-powered credit decisioning infrastructure, an action that will directly support the growth and scaling of Mathesis’ core mission of providing the intelligence and infrastructure needed to bridge the credit gap for millions of unscored or underscored individuals across Nigeria.
With this investment, Mathesis will enable financial institutions to confidently assess and extend credit to borrowers who lack a formal credit history by leveraging an expanded pool of alternative behavioural and transactional data.
To date, Mathesis’ systems have supported more than 8 million loans for over 2 million unique borrowers in Nigeria, and the company is actively deploying its infrastructure to establish a growing pan-African footprint.
With the investment from First Ally Capital, Mathesis is well positioned to transform how the credit ecosystem operates, driving financial inclusion in partnership with lenders across the continent.
A significant barrier to credit access in Nigeria, which prides itself on being Africa’s largest economy, is data fragmentation. Borrowers frequently build positive financial behaviours across multiple digital platforms by repaying microfinance loans, saving through fintech wallets, or servicing Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) facilities.
However, under traditional credit infrastructure, these achievements remain invisible to new lenders.
Mathesis addresses this challenge through the concept of Personal Equity—the quantified expression of an individual’s financial behaviour aggregated across every institution with which they have transacted.
By translating these disparate signals into a precise, portable measure of creditworthiness, Mathesis creates a comprehensive credit identity that reflects the full breadth of a person’s financial life.
“True financial inclusion cannot be achieved in a vacuum; it requires structural collaboration in which lenders and fintech companies work as partners within the ecosystem.
“This investment from First Ally Capital validates our approach to reshaping credit infrastructure. By quantifying Personal Equity, we empower lenders to safely look beyond the constraints of formal credit histories and recognise a borrower’s true creditworthiness. This capital enables us to accelerate our pan-African expansion while maintaining the robust, institutional-grade infrastructure our partners rely on,” the chief executive of Mathesis Analytics, Winston Osuchukwu, stated.
On his part, the chief executive of First Ally Capital, Mr Ebenezer Olufowose, said, “At First Ally Capital, we pride ourselves on being a one-stop destination for financial solutions, offering a diverse portfolio of services ranging from investment banking and asset management to trusteeship, inclusive banking, and real estate.
“Our investment in Mathesis Analytics reflects our strong belief in the company’s vision and our commitment to supporting forward-thinking enterprises that deliver excellence.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The chief executive of Canal+ Africa, Mr David Mignot, has disclosed that MultiChoice is now fully integrated into the media group.
Mr Mignot disclosed this via a statement issued on Thursday, noting that this development marks a new phase in the evolution of one of Africa’s leading pay television operators.
He noted that the integration positions MultiChoice within a global media organisation with an extensive international footprint.
“MultiChoice is now a full subsidiary of a truly international media group operating in 70 countries. The group was founded in France, is listed in London and Johannesburg, and has a strong African presence with operations in more than 45 countries,” Mr Mignot said.
The statement underscores the scale of the combined business, highlighting Canal+’s global reach alongside its significant investments across Africa.
The completion of the transaction is expected to strengthen MultiChoice’s position in the African media and entertainment market by giving it access to the broader resources, expertise and international capabilities of the Canal+ Group, while reinforcing the group’s commitment to the continent.
MultiChoice operates across sub-Saharan Africa through platforms including DStv and GOtv, serving millions of subscribers with entertainment, sports and news content.
