AN APP described as “Google Maps” for boats has launched a crowdfunding campaign that has so far raised £970,000.

savvy navvy says the current campaign could be its last crowdfunding round after its most successful year to date.

The app, developed by Poole-based founder and chief executive Jelte Liebrand, doubled its annual recurring revenue to £1.5million in 2022 and has raised more than £3m in previous crowdfunding rounds, from more than 1,800 investors including the founders of Kahoot.

Mr Liebrand said: “In all our rounds to date, this is the fastest overfunding we’ve ever experienced and I’m blown away by the continued support. We are knocking at the door of profitability and as a company we’re moving into a new phase.

“While our core product is targeted at boaters, last year we expanded that to paddleboarders, kayakers and jet-skiers too. With this funding round we will be looking at launching our enhanced version of the app to get even more people safely out on the water.”

Mr Liebrand, a former Google software engineer, built the app alongside a 15-strong remote team.

“We’ve hit close to a million app downloads and users have plotted more than 100m miles around the world,” he said.

“Now in our sixth year here at savvy navvy, we are actively shaping the marine industry for the better and challenging the bigger navigation apps in the market. This investment will help continue to drive these business and new technical innovations forward.

“We are also working more closely with marine agencies and other stakeholders, as we are building one of the most insight-rich platforms on boating behaviour.”

The founder won the Seedrs Entrepreneur of the year award in 2019 and at the end of last year, he won the Great British Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Scale Up category.