PlayMob gets £500,000 funding for future development
PLAYMOB, the company behind Giverboard.com, which enables charities to fundraise through in-game micro-payments, has secured £500,000 investment.
The bulk of the investment is from NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) and Midven’s Early Advantage fund.
PlayMob’s development team, which is based at Birmingham Science Park Aston, is set to grow to 13 people before the end of the year.
PlayMob, which is a graduate of the Science Park’s Entrepreneurs for the Future incubation centre, has developed its ‘GiverBoard’ technology, connecting computer games with charities. Players are able to fundraise by purchasing virtual items within a game, which can be directly related to a relevant charity. A tractor purchased by a game player could be linked to a charity which plants crops in Zambia, for example.
In addition to investment from NESTA and Midven, PlayMob has secured a number of angel investors – including newly appointed chairman, Ian Livingstone OBE – to expand its team and grow the marketplace.
Dr David Hardman MBE, CEO of Birmingham Science Park Aston said: “PlayMob is a first class example of how a talented entrepreneur with a vision can graduate through our Entrepreneurs for the Future incubation centre and go on to achieve significant success.
“PlayMob is one of 11 gaming companies that have started their business at the science park in the past two years. They all have the potential to become high-growth, homegrown companies that this city can be truly proud of.”
The £500,000 investment will enable PlayMob to increase its staff from eight to 13 people. The team will set to work on automating their technology to have a significantly larger reach and will also develop a range of add-ons that will help generate further revenue.
