Exclusive: Neighbourgood acquires traveltech startup Local Knowledge for $1.5 million

Neighbourgood, the South African real estate investment company with over 1,000 work and co-living spaces across Cape Town and San Francisco, has acquired traveltech startup Local Knowledge in a deal worth $1.5 million in cash and equity. The acquisition is crucial to Neighbourgood’s launch of a mobile app that recommends activities and tours to users.

“We have been focused on building physical locations, but there was always a strategy to build technology that made the experience of living and working spaces better,” said Murray Clark, Neighbourgood’s founder. “The acquisition of Local Knowledge will help us accelerate that strategy.”

Founded in 2020 and with a business presence in Cape Town and San Francisco, Neighbourgood provides co-living and co-working spaces for digital nomads and tourists. It has over 1,000 spaces and plans to build 650 more in 2024. Local Knowledge, on the other hand is a digital platform that provides users with curated recommendations for activities and tours in Cape Town.

Key Takeaways

Neighbourgood has acquired traveltech startup Local Knowledge for $1.5 million in cash and equity

The company plans to incorporate Local Knowledge’s tech stack into its accommodation offering

It also plans to accelerate expansion in the US

Neighbourgood 2.0 launching in December

Neighbourgood plans to also launch a co-working space offering called “Workclubs” which would cost from R990 a month in rental for a space accommodating 35 team members. This product and existing accommodation and experiences offerings will be launched as part of the Neighbourgood app experience on December 1.

“Traditional workplaces are usually too big and expensive for the kind of clients we are targeting with this product,” Clark told TechCabal. “Ours will seek to be more affordable and also foster collaboration for tenant teams.” With Cape Town being one of the biggest startup hubs on the continent, Neighbourgood will be looking to service such teams looking for alternatives to other co-working space platforms like WeWork South Africa.

In January, the company also plans to raise funding to finance its expansion in the US, where it currently has three locations.