iono.fm, a South African podcast and audio streaming services, has received $175k (R2.5m) in a funding round led by Clifftop Colony.

Clifftop Colony is an independent corporate finance, investment advisory and operational financial management firm focused on growth companies in sub-Saharan Africa.

Oliver Drews, CEO of Clifftop Colony, said: “We have tracked iono.fm’s progress over the past four years and are deeply impressed with the team’s resilience, commitment and the world-class technology they have built.” 

“We look forward to the partnership with Ryan and his team and hope that we can contribute to building this business in the years to come,” he added. 

The investment will be used to fund Iono.fm’s domestic consolidation and bolster its streaming and podcasting services.

Founded in 2008, iono.fm optimises the uploading, hosting and sharing of audio content.

Iono.fm offers radio streaming services and also fields advertisements on the podcasts hosted on the site. 

Some of the company's clents include Phillips, Investec, Standard Bank, Jaguar and Pepsi, amongst others.

Over the last 12 months iono.fm has seen a 86% growth in podcast listens compared to the previous 12 month period.

“With a local and international presence of the Angels and Clifftop Colony itself, the consortium of investors are ideal partners for us as we continue to scale our business both domestically and globally,” said Ryan Dingley, CEO and Founder of iono.fm.