South African event technology platform combining ticketing, cashless payments, access control and event discovery.

Howler was founded by Steve Cuzen in 2014.

Who are Howler's investors?

Howler's investors include Techstars.

Where is Howler headquartered?

Howler is headquartered in Johannesburg, ZA.

Howler

Techstars '17

Johannesburg, ZA · Founded 2014 · 162 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors

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Howler is an online event discovery platform where users can search and find events, organisers, venues, and artists. The platform serves event attendees looking for online streams, festivals, and gatherings.

Also known as Howler ACCESS · Howler DISCOVER · Howler LOADED

Marketplaces

Founders & leadership

Howler was founded in 2014 by Steve Cuzen.

Steve CuzenFounder

Investors · 1

Techstarslisted by TechstarsBoulder · $220K

How we know: the Techstars portfolio · funding news · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us

Company profile

researched Sep 2026

Howler is a South African event technology company offering an integrated platform for ticketing, cashless payments and access control, together with a consumer-facing marketplace for discovering and buying tickets to events. Its product set is described in three parts: Howler ACCESS for end-to-end ticket handling, distribution, insurance and entry management; Howler LOADED for cashless transactions at events; and Howler DISCOVER, the attendee-facing discovery and purchase experience.

The platform is used across music festivals, nightlife, lifestyle, active and corporate events. Consumers browse listings by category and artist on howler.co.za, buy tickets priced in South African rand, top up cashless wallets and cash out remaining balances online after an event. Accounts can be created with email or via Google and Facebook sign-in.

The company states it delivers event solutions in more than 20 countries and that its cashless hardware and software are network-independent, allowing tap-to-pay transactions to complete in under three seconds without reliance on connectivity at the venue.

Business model

Howler licenses its event technology stack to event organisers, which use it for ticket sales and distribution, cashless payments at the venue and access control. Attendees buy tickets through the consumer marketplace, top up cashless balances and later cash out unspent funds online, so the platform sits between organisers and event-goers on both the ticketing and on-site spending flows.

Revenue is derived from event organisers using the platform for ticket sales, distribution and insurance, cashless payment processing and access control at events.

Traction

The consumer site lists active events across categories including festival (149), nightlife (135), lifestyle (130), music (74) and active (22), with named artists such as Dlala Thukzin, Darque and Focalistic. A startup directory lists the company at 51-200 employees and status "operating".

▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history

Market position

Howler operates in the South African event ticketing and cashless payments market, where it is listed alongside ticketing providers such as Quicket, HeroTicket and AirDosh in industry directories. It describes itself as serving large festivals and events internationally.

Howler positions its offering around network-independent cashless technology that completes tap-and-go payments in under three seconds without depending on venue connectivity, and around combining ticketing, access control and on-site payments in a single platform rather than separate systems.

Technology

The stack spans online ticketing, RFID-style tap-to-pay cashless payments and access control. Howler describes its event technology as 100% network-independent, so transactions complete on site without stable connectivity, with payments taking under three seconds. The consumer web platform supports account creation by email and federated sign-in with Google and Facebook.

Go-to-market

Howler sells directly to event organisers with a "sell more (than) tickets" pitch and a self-serve sign-up path on its website, while building attendee demand through its own event discovery marketplace, artist and category listings, and presence in third-party event and festival directories.

Event organisers running music festivals, nightlife, lifestyle, active and corporate events, plus consumers attending those events who buy tickets and use cashless wallets.

Geography

Headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with offices listed in Hyde Park, Sandton. Consumer ticketing activity is concentrated in South Africa, with events priced in rand and scheduled in South African Standard Time; the company states it delivers event solutions in more than 20 countries.

History

Internal records date the company to 2014 in Johannesburg, while one startup directory lists a 2016 founding date. The company has been associated with the Barclays Accelerator and Techstars programmes and lists Techstars Ventures, Platform Capital and angel investor Yossi Hasson among its backers. Leadership is listed as Shai Evian (CEO) alongside founder Stephen Cuzen.

Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.

Key figures

latest reported

Cashless transaction timeJan 2025under 3 seconds

Countries servedJan 202520

EmployeesJan 202551-200

Festival events listedJan 2025149 events

Lifestyle events listedJan 2025130 events

Music events listedJan 202574 events

Nightlife events listedJan 2025135 events

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

Related companies · 7

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SongkickSongkick is a platform that helps music fans track their favorite artists and discover live concerts, providing personalized alerts and ticket purchasing options. The service serves music fans globally and operates in the live music/ticketing industry.

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SeatGeekMobile-focused ticket platform for sports, concert, and theater events.

ShazamShazam is a mobile app for iOS and Android that identifies music playing nearby by creating a digital fingerprint of the audio and matching it against a database of tracks, then returning song and artist details along with lyrics, video, and recommendations. The app also lets users identify TV programs and ads, and is now part of Apple.

WanderlogWanderlog is a travel planning app that allows users to create detailed itineraries, explore shared guides from other travelers, and manage bookings—integrating attractions on maps, reservations, budgeting, and route optimization in a single platform.

StubHubStubHub operates a global secondary ticketing marketplace under the StubHub and viagogo brands that facilitates transactions between buyers seeking live event tickets and sellers offering inventory. The company also develops technology, data analytics, and distribution capabilities to support original issuance ticketing and expand into adjacent live event categories.

Companies working in the same space as Howler.

▸Research sources · 8

primary sources listed

Howlerhowler.co.za · web

8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.

Frequently asked questions

What does Howler do?: South African event technology platform combining ticketing, cashless payments, access control and event discovery.
Who founded Howler?: Howler was founded by Steve Cuzen in 2014.
Who are Howler's investors?: Howler's investors include Techstars.
Where is Howler headquartered?: Howler is headquartered in Johannesburg, ZA.