Ghana coach Avram Grant is among a group of people who have splashed $3.7m investment in an internet news company in the United States to boost expansion efforts, GHANAsoccernet.com can exclusively reveal.
The Black Stars coach has also been appointedà toà serve as the advisor for soccer-related affairs for the company after his massive investment in the company.
The Israeli manager, who has made millions of dollars investing in key industries in the world, joins the key investors in theà Grand Rapids-based sports information technology platform.
Varsity News Network, a provider of online communication platforms for high school athletics, completed a roughly $3.7 million financing round that will go toward expanding its platform on a national level and launch the companyââ¬â¢s mobile application.
The approximately $3.7 million completed financing round is in addition to the roughly $3 million Series A financing round VNN closed on in February 2014.
The most recent financing round was led by Florida-based Arsenal Venture Partners, which is an early- to mid-stage venture capital firm focusing on the intersection of emerging technology companies, large corporations and the government.
Ryan Waddington, partner at Arsenal Venture Partners, said VNN is quickly building the largest school athletic digital media platform in the country and is growing at a pace that will allow it to continue to dominate the market.
ââ¬ÅVNN has grown from 250 schools in the Midwest to 1,500 nationwide in little more than 18 months. That can only be accomplished with an extremely scalable business model (and) an all-star team with a vision for the future,â⬠said Waddington.
ââ¬ÅWith their suite of web and mobile tools and applications, VNN helps families and communities create strong, social connections through athletics.ââ¬
VNN also received financial support from a number of other investors, including: North Coast Technology Ventures, RSL Venture Partners, Start Garden, Nir Arkin, Detroit Innovate, Grand Angels, Northern Michigan Angels, the Michigan Angel Fund and Avram Grant, who is the former head coach of Englandââ¬â¢s Chelsea Football Club.
Grant will also serve as the advisor for soccer-related affairs for the company, according to a press release.