What Howler does

Howler is an event commerce platform headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with regional operations in London (UK) and Amsterdam (Netherlands) operating through three legal entities — Afeleton Proprietary Limited, Howler International Limited, and Howler Europe B.V. The platform serves event organizers, vendors, and event attendees across multiple verticals including nightlife (149 events on platform), festivals (109), lifestyle (87), music (45), and active/race events (32). It combines a ticketing engine (Howler Ticketing) with a proprietary RFID/NFC cashless payment system (Howler Cashless) that issues wristbands and cards enabling attendees to top up funds online or on-site and make contactless purchases at vendor POS stations without cash, supported by a settlement process that delivers vendor settlements within 3 business days and full-and-final settlement reports within 96 hours of event conclusion.

The platform's underlying technology includes NFC-enabled wristbands and cards, a Cashless REST API for third-party integration (covering check-ins, ticket validation, purchases, top-ups, refunds, sales, and access control), a Pulse analytics dashboard providing year-over-year ticketing, sales, demographic, and vendor reporting, and supporting add-on modules: Howler Active (race timing for running, swimming, cycling), Howler International (multi-territory support with local currencies and compliance), Event Protect (refund protection), Online Streaming (Facebook Live and private Zoom integration), Ticket Resale (secondary market), and Ticket Reps (affiliate sales management). Howler's business model is transaction-based, monetizing through booking fees on ticket sales (varying by event and visible at checkout), vendor cashless fees of up to 5% commission plus 2.5% banking fees plus VAT, and usage-based revenue from cashless top-ups. Named customers include The Ascots at Hollywoodbets Durban July, FUNKitUP Events, Breakout Events (Parklive Festival), Stella Artois (The Soiree), and Katzys Live Rosebank, spanning enterprise brands, mid-market promoters, and SMB venues. The company was incorporated in 2009, has 101-250 employees, and has raised approximately $1.28M across three disclosed funding rounds (2017, 2019, and 2020) with Techstars as a repeated investor alongside Techstars Ventures, Platform45, and Platform Capital; ownership is described as founder/investor-held private equity with no public shareholding or institutional investor disclosure beyond the funding rounds.

Name

Howler

Legal name

Afeleton Proprietary Limited trading as Howler

Website

https://howler.co.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Howler is an event commerce platform offering integrated ticketing and cashless RFID/NFC payment solutions for festivals, nightlife, lifestyle, music, and active events across South Africa, the UK, and the Netherlands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Ticketing Software

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Fan Engagement & Onsite Technology (RFID, Cashless, Apps) (MPAGAAAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Access Control, Credentialing & Entry Management (Scan/Turnstiles/RFID) (MPAGAJAG), Ticketing, Registration & Event Technology (Badging, Apps) (BPAFAGAL)

Keywords

• Event ticketing platform
• Cashless payment system
• RFID wristband payments
• Event management software
• Vendor POS solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales Commission: Howler charges booking fees on ticket sales, which include bank fees, payment gateway charges, commissions, and administrative costs. Fees vary by event and are visible during checkout.
2. Vendor Cashless Fees: Howler charges vendors at cashless events a fee structure consisting of up to 5% commission plus 2.5% banking fees plus VAT. Event organizers may pass this fee on to vendors. Vendor fees are deducted from settlement amounts.
3. Cashless Top-ups: Attendees top up their RFID wristbands with credit online or onsite. Howler processes these transactions and may earn revenue through transaction fees embedded in the overall vendor fee structure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Howler operates an integrated event commerce platform that combines online event ticketing with an RFID/NFC-based cashless payment system. Event organizers use the platform to create events, sell tickets across multiple pricing phases, process contactless payments at venues via wristbands and cards, manage vendor settlements, and access real-time analytics. Vendors at events use dedicated portals and POS devices to process cashless transactions, while event attendees purchase tickets and top-up wristband balances online or onsite.

Product overview

Howler is an event technology platform consisting of a unified product portfolio centered around two core offerings: Howler Ticketing (event ticketing and management) and Howler Cashless (RFID-based cashless payment systems for events). These core products are supplemented by add-on modules including Howler Active (race timing and participant tracking for endurance events), Howler International (multi-territory support), Howler Pulse (analytics and reporting dashboards), Event Protect (refund protection), Online Streaming (virtual event capabilities), Ticket Resale (secondary market), and Ticket Reps (affiliate sales tools). The platform also includes a Vendor Portal for on-site vendors to manage menus, sales, and settlements at cashless events. Howler serves event organizers across South Africa, Europe, and international markets through web and mobile interfaces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Howler Ticketing

Quantifiable outcome

• Vendor settlements processed within 3 business days after event conclusion
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Festicket: Festicket is a festival-focused travel and ticketing marketplace bundling tickets, accommodation, and travel packages for music festivals. Comparable to Howler's festival ticketing core, with a different monetization angle but overlapping target organizers.
• Resident Advisor (RA): RA is a leading electronic music events listing and ticketing platform serving club and festival events globally. Comparable to Howler in its concentration on music and nightlife ticketing, though RA does not operate its own RFID cashless infrastructure.
• DICE: DICE is a mobile-first event discovery and ticketing platform with strong cashless payment capabilities at live events, particularly focused on music. Directly comparable to Howler's ticketing + cashless stack with emphasis on nightlife and music verticals.
• Posh (event technology): Posh provides event-based cashless payment solutions using RFID/NFC wristbands for festivals, nightclubs, and sporting events. Direct peer in the cashless payment infrastructure layer that competes with Howler's core Cashless product.
• Paylogic: Paylogic is a European event ticketing and cashless payment provider serving festivals, concerts, and sports events. Direct peer in ticketing and cashless infrastructure, and the most relevant comparable for Howler's European expansion strategy.
• Shotgun: Shotgun is an electronic-music-focused ticketing and event platform with cashless features and a strong presence in nightlife and festival verticals. Directly comparable to Howler's music/nightlife focus, especially relevant as Howler extends into European dance music markets.
• Intellitix: Intellitix specializes in RFID/NFC cashless payments, access control, and audience engagement at festivals and live events globally. Direct peer in the cashless wristband and event technology layer that Howler competes in at premium festivals.

Broad incumbents

• Ticketmaster: Ticketmaster is the world's largest ticketing marketplace, serving concerts, sports, and live events globally. A broad incumbent that competes with Howler at the ticketing layer, with significantly greater scale and venue relationships, particularly as Howler expands into UK and EU markets.
• Eventbrite: Eventbrite is a global self-service event ticketing and experience marketplace serving organizers across music, festivals, lifestyle, and active events. Overlaps with Howler's ticketing layer but as a much broader, publicly-listed incumbent without integrated cashless infrastructure.

Others

• Glownet: Glownet provides cashless payment and event technology solutions for live events and is currently integrated as a payment processing partner for Howler. Adjacent peer that competes in some event cashless deployments but also serves as Howler's technical service provider per public documentation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/howlerapp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/howler-pack

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Howler