Telefónica makes its first ever Wayra startup investment, with UK small jobs marketplace Taskhub

After launching in Latin America in April 2011, Telefónica‘s startup accelerator Wayra finally landed in Europe early in 2012, starting with Madrid, and followed swiftly after by London.

In June, sixteen teams were chosen for the 6-month long incubation in London, one of which was small jobs marketplace Taskhub, which has become the first Wayra startup globally to receive funding from Telefónica.

Indeed, Telefónica Digital, the digital innovation arm of O2 parent Telefónica, has announced that its venture capital team has invested a “six figure sum” in Taskhub, an online marketplace not too dissimilar to Task Rabbit. In a nutshell, Taskhub lets you outsource errands to trusted individuals or small businesses in your community. You  post a task, and the price you are willing to pay for it. Verified experts, who are vetted based on a range of checks including customer reviews, can then bid for the job.

Thus far, Taskhub has been in private beta, but officially launches today for London, with the rest of the UK to follow later this year. Wayra has been working with Taskhub throughout its incubation period, providing a shared working space, technology, know-how and access to the investor community.

In addition to its investment, Telefónica will also seek to leverage opportunities for Taskhub through Telefónica UK to help it accelerate. This includes marketing through O2 channels, including its small business customer base, and also tapping O2 assets such as Priority Moments Local. The potential kick-back for Taskhub on the marketing front is huge.

We’re told that there may also be potential for Taskhub to launch in other markets where Telefónica operates.

“We created Wayra to find and nurture the best technology start ups and this investment is a fantastic example of how we can then take a start up beyond seed stage, leveraging both our venture capital capabilities and opportunities within our operating businesses,” says Martin Harriman, Head of Telefónica Digital for the UK and Ireland. “It is also a great proof point of the commitment Telefónica and O2 have to supporting and investing in the UK start up community.”

Wayra London is part of a global network that now covers 13 academies in 12 countries in Europe and Latin America. Telefónica’s venture capital team has representatives in Silicon Valley, London, Madrid and Tel Aviv and is focused on early to mid-stage investments and acquisitions. Most recently it led an investment round in Everything.me, an Israel-based startup, while Telefónica also acquired video communications company TokBox back in October.

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