PropTech - property technology - is in the midst of a wave of innovative and technological solutions aimed at digitally improving or reinventing property-related services. In this context, Tayo provides a platform where tenants, co-owners, managers, owners and companies providing services are able to share information, communicate effectively and automate certain low-value-added processes.
PropTech for Romande Energie
The real estate sector is an area in which Romande Energie is very active and intends to develop further. Aware of the technological shift taking place in this sector, Romande Energie intends to support its partners and customers in this transition by providing integrated energy efficiency solutions (Microgrid, Smart Living, CECB, renovation, etc.) and by establishing strategic partnerships.
PropTech perfectly suits Romande Energie's vision as a major player in the energy transition. Technology plays a key role in transforming real estate transactional businesses by adding automation, smart features and new interfaces. In particular, the use of data allows owners to identify measures to be implemented in order to improve their buildings, reducing energy consumption and improve their investments.
"Reducing energy consumption in buildings is our mission at Romande Energie. We intend to accelerate this process with our customers and partners through the use of technology and data. We are delighted to be part of Tayo's future" Christian Frère explains, Director of the Energy Business Unit.
Tayo: digital technology at the service of property management
A start-up based at the EPFL and created in 2017, Tayo enables professionals in the real estate field to improve their services, by being available 24/7 over a set of channels. Today, fourteen property managers or owners are among its clients. Thanks to the platform set up by Tayo, the interactions between tenants, property managers and service providers, as well as the management of incidents in apartments, have been simplified.
Case study
A heating problem reported on the platform at 11pm by a tenant will be dealt with the next day when the management opens and at 8.05am, the heating service provider will contact the tenant to offer them an appointment and deal with the problem. In these interactions, the risk of misunderstanding and delays in response times is thus reduced.
A strong signal for the development of PropTech
The alliance between Tayo and Romande Energie, as well as the resulting synergies, represent a strong signal for the development of PropTech in French-speaking Switzerland. Tayo is emerging as a leader in solutions for property managers and owners in a well-identified area: its aim is to simplify and develop the interactions between real estate professionals and the various third parties involved. The collaboration has two main objectives: to accelerate and secure the development of Tayo on the one hand and to strengthen Romande Energie's digital and real estate activities on the other.
Etienne Friedli, CEO and co-founder of Tayo with Claude Frei, declares with enthusiasm: "It's a huge honour for us to be the first start-up in which Romande Energie acquires a stake. We are convinced that this synergy will be fruitful and that it fits perfectly with our respective visions of what the real estate field will look like tomorrow!”
Romande Energie's investment
Initially, Romande Energie will acquire 10% of the share capital of Tayo. In a second phase, the Group's participation could reach 20% of the start-up's share capital. Romande Energie's participation in the start-up Tayo took effect on 03.09.2019.