RTL Ventures is an investment fund launched in March by RTL Deutschland. Its focus is on capital and media investments in Germany, Austria and Switzerland that offer relevant growth potential and are striving for long-term market leadership in their respective category. RTL Ventures has now made its first investment in the growth market of healthcare by acquiring a stake in Marta, an online platform for matching 24-hour nursing personnel with seniors in need of care. Marta was founded in Berlin in 2020 and matches families and relatives with independent nurses. RTL Ventures will provide Marta with both capital and advertising services.
Support with the latter comes from Ad Alliance, the ad marketing company that is also part of RTL Deutschland. Thanks to the quick work and great flexibility of our colleagues in Cologne, a TV commercial for Marta is ready for broadcast just a few days after the investment was completed. The TV ad will not only help Marta grow its customer base, but also contribute to sustainable brand development, driving the expansion of the platform and the brand. To prepare for new customers, Marta recently hired a significant number of support staff. Initial feedback indicates that the platform’s transparent approach is gaining popularity among caregivers and customers alike.
Major growth potential
“By investing in Marta, we are investing in a growth market that is shaped by demographic change and not dependent on the economy,” says Beate Koch, Senior Vice President Growth & Investments at RTL Deutschland. “Surveys indicate that by 2035, there will be a shortage of more than 120,000 caregivers in Germany alone. Marta aims to make the highly fragmented and non-transparent market for 24-hour home care transparent, fair, and safe for all parties involved. The team, the investors, and the feedback from the company’s first customers and caregivers are excellent, and we look forward to leading Marta into the future together with other investors.”
Ute Henzgen, General Sales Director at Ad Alliance, says: “Marta is a digital company with great growth potential. Our media portfolio offers the ideal target groups and therefore the best leverage effects for Marta’s wide-ranging offers, which are aimed at people of all ages in need of support. TV in particular creates awareness and will quickly push the platform’s performance. With ten years of experience working with digital startups, my team and I are very excited to continue driving this growth story with Marta.”
Marta raised around €6.6 million in a first investment round with Capnamic and Almaz Capital in the summer of 2022, and another investment round is currently underway with CSS Swiss Health Ventures. Founders Jan Hoffmann and Philipp Buhr have already persuaded other well-known founders such as Daniel Klein (Sumup), Dominik Richter (Hello Fresh) and Christian Vollmann (My Video, eDarling, nebenan.de) to invest in the digital start-up. Following this initial investment, RTL Ventures says it plans to participate in upcoming financing rounds to further increase its stake in Marta.
