Published on the 22/06/2015 | Written by Donovan Jackson
CricHQ has secured up to US$10 million funding from Singapore-based private equity firm Tembusu Partners…
Seeking to expand its reach while also enhancing its cricket digital platforms, Wellington-based CricHQ has sold a minority equity stake to raise the capital necessary for growth.
The company has partnered with 41 of the world’s 106 national cricket governing bodies to better administer the game in their jurisdictions and is seeking to add a further 12 in the coming year, said founder and CEO Simon Baker.
Those familiar with the game will recognise that cricket administration traditionally consists of paper-based, time-intensive methods of data collection, perhaps best embodied by scorers equipped with pencils on the sidelines. CricHQ’s platform replaces those processes and includes a cricket administration module that integrates with its real-time scoring app. Baker said the key target for the company’s software is the grassroots of the game, but noted that there is a necessity for a cultural shift to move away from traditional methods.
Fuelled by the fresh capital, CricHQ is set to grow its global operations through senior appointments in India, United Kingdom, South Africa and Pakistan. It will also expand its operations in India, cricket’s biggest market.
Interview by iStart, Baker noted that software development will still take place predominantly in New Zealand, but that company is growing its supporting team in India. “Most of our ‘people expansion’ is there. In terms of proximity to the world, the Asian subcontinent is better positioned, and of course, it is the heart of cricket. If we want to achieve our goals, we have to commit to that part of the world.”
Baker said inspiration for CricHQ came out of recognition that cricket is traditionally administered around paper-heavy processes. “Having worked in document management and seeing businesses adopt digital processes to replace paper-based ones, I realised there must be a better way for cricket. And digitisation benefits players, coaches and fans, as it makes available statistics and analysis which was once preserved for the elite.”
In a prepared statement, Andy Lim, Chairman of Tembusu Partners, said: “Tembusu believes that CricHQ’s business model is highly scalable and it has a huge opportunity to become the world’s leading online repository of cricket information.”
