Varsity Vibe is South Africa’s first student/youth-specific rewards platform. They help the youth of South Africa get more bang for their buck. Furthermore, they help businesses all over South Africa better engage with the future leaders of this nation.
What first started as a self-funded start-up where Dino Talotti (Founder & CEO) would go knocking on doors asking to speak to the manager or owner, has now become a household name for students all over South Africa. With a little help from its investors, Varsity Vibe was able to rebuild its tech, innovate from its learnings, and build the super simple, easy-to-use platform it has today.
The team working at Varsity Vibe all started working from the ground up and while they were still studying at university (some still are). They have grown the business substantially and are now proud to be securing deals and running entire campaigns for some of the biggest brands in South Africa.
Varsity Vibe’s partners cover fashion, food, data, tech, education and so much more. Varsity Vibe caters to the needs (and wants) of South Africa’s youth, making sure that as a student or young person in SA, you never pay full price.
They are the only company that helps students, or the youth get all these exclusive deals which they negotiate themselves with the different brands that they have a personal relationship with. Part of why they have managed to succeed so well is because of the relationships they have built with the different brands.
The benefit for the partner brands is better engagement via numerous digital marketing initiatives, on-campus activations or a combination through their turn-key solutions.
As of March 2023, Varsity Vibe had saved students over R26 million and it keeps growing.
In the future, they hope to be on every 16 – 25-year-old’s phone and that they will engage with the app every day. They also want to continue to help their partner brands to better engage with the youth of South Africa.
In 2023/24, they are looking to roll out the next phase of their platform, particularly geared at young professionals or young adults. To help them navigate the treacherous world of “Adulting” by helping them choose the best solution for them when it comes to insurance, motor vehicles, medical aids, and banks as well as still providing them with deals and discounts all over SA at the brands that they are now familiar with.
Varsity Vibe was chosen to receive a Top 20 Award at the 2022 South African Small Business Awards.
Varsity Vibe is a proud Platinum Member of the NSBC.