Electrum set to double in 2018

Electrum is expecting to double the volume of transactions processed in 2018. With the kind of explosive growth the company is experiencing, we’ll be adding new members to our expert, dedicated team, while ensuring maximum uptime for our clients.

Dave Glass, Electrum’s MD, believes considerable growth will come from the new value added services and payments solutions our clients are offering their customers. “Our local clients are constantly innovating, often ahead of more developed markets,” says Dave. “We also see a lot of effort going into financial inclusion and digital financial services for South Africans, which will benefit consumers and create new opportunities.”

Already 20 million South Africans indirectly use Electrum software – that’s one in three people in the country. Electrum’s home-grown technology meets the unique needs of South African business, which has already translated into a solid local market share for the company. Our current clients include Pick n Pay, Capitec, Mama Money, Massmart and Clicks, and that list is expected to grow in 2018.

Alongside a growth in transaction volumes, Electrum will also be growing its staff complement. Our company was founded by Dave Glass, Eon Joubert and Dirk Potgieter in 2012 and currently employs 25 people. That number is set to reach 40 by the end of the year! With that in mind, we’ve undertaken a deliberate recruitment strategy to attract the right kind of talent. “We’re careful not to rush hiring,” says Dave. “We’ll choose quality over fast, indiscriminate growth every single time. We’re looking to build a company that will stand the test of time.”

As part of our long-term growth strategy, Electrum offers Computer Science bursaries and internships. In addition a newly redesigned graduate development programme upskills new recruits, introduces them to clients and exposes them to the entire Electrum operation. Beyond the programme, mentoring by senior staff facilitates skills transfer and career development. Electrum believes that only through building teams with the necessary technical and customer-oriented skills can we ensure clients receive the kind of service and reliability they need.

Working at the scale Electrum’s clients operate, whilst achieving 100% uptime, is a particular challenge as the business grows. Besides the importance the company puts on hiring the right talent, we’re constantly increasing our technical capacity. “We’re putting a big effort into furthering our cloud capabilities, making extensive use of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure along with a dedicated devops and technical operations team,” says Dave.

As a company that’s already experienced impressive growth, we’ve always taken care to preserve the organisation’s culture. Our close-knit teams are collaborative, sharing knowledge (as well as lunches and the odd game of table tennis). A relentless focus on the long term, and an emphasis on customer partnerships and learning together have helped keep Electrum on track while it has grown, and should continue to do so in this next phase.

As we expand our operation in 2018, we’ll be looking for software developers, project managers, business analysts, trainers, technical writers and account executives. If you’re interested in working at Electrum, check out our Careers page for vacancies.