Fortino Capital invests in Real Impact Analytics

Brussels, Belgium, 13th of June 2016 – Real Impact Analytics, the innovative telecom big data startup, is proud to announce the closing of a €12 million investment round. It is led by top class venture capital funds Fortino Capital and Endeit Capital, together with Gimv, through its Gimv Arkiv Tech Fund II. This Series A funding will allow Real Impact Analytics to further challenge the industry giants with its catalog of big data applications.

As one of the fastest growing European startups, the company has more than doubled in revenue and team size (now 120+) every year on average since its inception in 2009. The Belgian startup is already working with five of the top ten global telecom operators and has five offices around the world.

Smart funds to further challenge the industry leaders

This first round of external funding will enable Real Impact Analytics to continue its expansion and provide the resources to further challenge giants like SAS and IBM. The company changed the traditional big data approach by delivering simple and easy-to-use applications for telecom employees. In this context, the funds will support the continued development of the startup’s applications catalog. Additionally, the ability to attract the ideal consortium of value-adding venture capitalists is further proof of Real Impact Analytics’ potential.

Fortino Capital, led by the executives who shaped Telenet, built an extensive network and experience in the telecom industry. Duco Sickinghe, Founder and Managing partner at Fortino, and former CEO of Telenet stated: “Real Impact Analytics is the company that will enable telecom operators to successfully undergo their big data journey. It is now evident that operators which effectively use big data deliver superior profitability. The startup’s disruptive approach and powerful technology are delivering tremendous impact. It is a new quantum leap in improving customer acquisition and success as well as driving a superior return on network assets. As a telecom executive, I would love to have them as partners to build the analytic capability better and faster. The loyalty of their customer base is a testimony of their achievements.”

Endeit Capital invests in transformative internet and technology companies. The fund is a reference in the digital media and advertising ecosystems. Its founders include Hubert Deitmers, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Endeit Capital and former Member of the Executive Board of Endemol. He stated: “Big data is one of our focus areas and we selected Real Impact Analytics among other promising players due to its unique offering. Besides, we are very impressed by its highly talented team.”

As one of the largest and most successful funds in Europe, Gimv represents a key asset for Real Impact Analytics’ future growth stages. The fund invests in companies that anticipate evolving consumer needs with a strong vision of what and how, the connected consumer will buy. “Real Impact Analytics is an opportunity we simply could not a ord to miss because of their disruptive big data applications and high growth ambitions” said Muriel Uytterhaegen, Principal at Gimv.

One mission: embedding analytics in people’s day-to-day work

“We are tired of seeing analytics only bene ting a few privileged experts. We have achieved what no other company has — developing and truly embedding big data apps in the day-to-day work of major telecom operators. With the help of these investors one can only imagine what we will do to fulfill our mission,” said Sébastien Deletaille, Co-Founder and CEO of Real Impact Analytics.

Now is the time to further transform the way telecom operators work

“Big data applications is one of the fastest growing markets. To survive, telecom operators urgently need to drive their business based on data. The industry is beginning to realize the value will essentially be captured by industry speci c, end-to-end applications. 2016 is the perfect time for Real Impact Analytics to enter the giant’s court,” said Loic Jacobs van Merlen, Co-Founder and CCO of Real Impact Analytics.

About Real Impact Analytics

RIA helps telecom operators manage their marketing, sales and distribution networks more e ciently and successfully with big data applications.

The company was co-founded in 2009 by high school and college friends, Sébastien Deletaille (31yo) and Loïc Jacobs van Merlen (32yo). Prior to joining Real Impact Analytics, Sébastien Deletaille was a Junior Associate at McKinsey & Company and Loïc Jacobs van Merlen was a Management Consultant at Roland Berger.

Real Impact Analytics has headquarters in Brussels and regional offices in Brazil, Luxembourg, Malaysia and South Africa. They have attracted an impressive team of 120+ top talents from around the globe.. The fast growing startup creates and distributes a proprietary suite of applications that capture the value in telecom data. By embedding the latest big data technologies in the day-to-day work of telecom employees, Real Impact Analytics provides guided and predictive analytics with measurable impact and ROI.

Real Impact Analytics’ apps deliver value for five of the top ten global communications service providers. The most successful use cases include designing the smartest one- on-one campaigns for Digicel, and capturing market share with geo-analytics with Airtel. Real Impact Analytics is also very active with development agencies and international institutions such as The World Bank, Gates Foundation, and USAID who use their analytic applications for social and development issues in emerging markets.