Africa Travel Investor Finds New Rental Venture Incompatible With Remote Workers

25.08.2023 - 14:30 / skift.com / Matthew Parsons / Africa

A venture studio shut down its remote working startup after discovering its business model wasn’t really meeting its goals.

Purple Elephant Ventures, based in Nairobi, Kenya, has pulled the plug on Wavel, a platform designed to connect professionals with high-end properties. The decision came just after Purple Elephant Ventures had raised $1 million, including backing from Ian McCaig, a former lastminute.com CEO.

It had set up Wavel to showcase African destinations as ideal remote working locations.

While brands like Selina have welcomed growing numbers of digital nomads, Wavel was more for high-end professionals, such as in banking or law, perhaps with their family.

“The premise was it was a remote working startup,” said Purple Elephant Ventures’ co-founder and CEO Ben Peterson. “Why work from your house in London when you can work from one of the world’s most inspiring locations? Like in Kenya, you can work from the Masai Mara, or from the coast.”

Infrastructure proved a challenge, though, with guaranteed wifi and home office space essential. That meant some control over the property was needed.

“If we’re controlling these properties, then we become what? We rent them out, we kit them out, we then essentially become a property manager, who’s then responsible for maximizing occupancy,” Peterson said. “But if we’re maximizing occupancy, then it means renting to people who might want to do remote work, but other people probably don’t.”

The other obstacle was brand value. The co-founder said if a family were relocating to Africa, they’d need to be able to trust the brand. For example, if the internet goes down they need a brand they can rely on, so they know they could make that important board meeting.

“And if you’re working on the coast of Kenya, or in the middle of the bush, where you wouldn’t naturally expect to have great internet, you’d want a brand to help you guide you through that, and the installation of the technology and hardware to make your remote experience as smooth as possible,” he said.

Developing a brand takes time. So was the solution rather to focus on a front-end sales engine? Even Airbnb came under some criticism for its suitability for digital nomads. Can you trust a host?

Meanwhile, Peterson said he also felt the demand for remote work has begun to waver. “Blended travel seems less blurry, and more distinct: this is work, this vacation, let’s keep them separate,” he said.

As a result of so many directions to take, Peterson said Wavel “fell into the wasteland of not being able to land on the proper business model.”

However, he believes it was the right decision as it avoids losing money in the future. The tough call also reflected the “venture studio” ethos, which involves coming