Chester personal safety app WalkSafe has launched a £200k funding drive on the crowdfunding platform Seedr.
The free-to-download WalkSafe has been downloaded around 570,000 times to date. It offers a suite of tools to protect people, including regularly updated police crime data to show users recent crime hotspots so they can pick safe routes to walk home. The app also allows users to alert contacts if they’re feeling unsafe while walking and features a dead switch giving their exact last known location if their phone is deactivated.
The firm’s market research has revealed that four out of five adults between the ages of 20 to 50 are “greatly concerned” about their safety when walking home late at night, while 68 per cent of women worry about their personal safety at least once a week.
The company already attracted a €360k (£300k) investment from Manchester’s Fearless Adventures amidst soaring downloads in February. That investment also included digital marketing support and talent sourcing through Fearless Adventures.
Founder Emma Kay, the daughter of a policeman, said at the time: “I call WalkSafe the ‘app that shouldn’t have to exist’ as no woman should have to live in fear of violence or the threat of it when they walk from A to B. But, like countless women, I’ve experienced being groped, flashed at, and harassed with no provocation. Thankfully, I have been able to turn that fear and danger into something useful. So I’m proud that our technology empowers women, and has quickly become the most popular trusted safety app.”
The latest funding drive has already achieved over 80 per cent of its objective, with almost £170k raised from a total of 20 investors.
