Contract and supplier technology platform Portt has raised $4 million to expand on its ambition to improve transparency, accountability and eliminate modern slavery from government and company supply chains.
The raise was led by fund manager, CVC Emerging Companies Fund and supported by a number of additional investors.
Founded in 2010, Portt’s organic growth has seen it take on over 30 clients, open three offices – Sydney, Newcastle and Ho Chi Minh City – and hire 40 staff. Its key customers include NSW Health, and the ABC.
“This injection of funds will help fuel the launch of the next version of our contract and supplier platform, which doubles down on our aim to improve transparency across the supply chain for both government and enterprise.” Chris Homes, Co-CEO and co-founder
The company predicts it will continue to grow annual recurring revenue by double digits with the increased capital, as issues with company and government procurement practices continue to be exposed.
A recent 2018 Auditor-General report into NSW local councils found that over 67 per cent of local councils have no contract management plan for procurement. Less than a third set formal KPIs for contract performance.
Meanwhile, modern slavery still poses a risk for businesses and governments who don’t have full visibility over their procurement processes.
Australia’s Slavery Act penalises any entity which either intentionally or unintentionally leverages slavery in their supply chain. According to the 2018 Global Slavery Index, over 6.8 million people are still in some form of modern slavery.
“Portt is an excellent example of the type of opportunity the fund was established to pursue – growing, innovative companies operating as leaders in their markets and run by motivated, aligned, high quality founders with a significant ownership stake in the business.” Commenting on their investment, Christian Jensen from CVC Emerging Companies Fund
