Kenya-based Powered by People gets seed worth $5 million in order to scale operations of its wholesale e-commerce platform
- ByStartupStory | March 21, 2022
With hubs in the Americas, Asia and Europe, a wholesale e-commerce platform based in Kenya, powered by People, has secured $5 million in seed funding in order to increase its transaction volumes by growing the number of small brands using its B2B online marketplace so as to reach international buyers.
With participation from a number of investors including Flexport Ventures, J Ventures, and the founders of DraftKings, Fabric, the equity funding was led by Susa Ventures and Golden Ventures. Having previously received support from a number of investors including the Founders Factory Africa, Mercy Corps and the Mastercard Foundation, it brings the total funding raised by the startup to $7 million.
Companies that are also pushed by the need for diversity and have pledged to support small traders as they also keep up with the rise of conscious customers, links small brands to retailers keen on supply-chain transparency, sustainability and small-batch production, Powered by People.
Across major markets including in North America and Asia, the startup works with over 200 brands and over 45,000 artisans from 47 countries, who sell to retailers like West Elm and The Citizenry. In total gross merchandise value by mid-March, the business recorded an annualized run rate of $15 million and before the year ends they expect to grow this to $25 million. Orders on the platform average worth $1,200.
The startup in order to help traders to quickly process customer orders also extends up to 50% advance financing. A 5% interest rate has been attracted by the 120-day facility. The startup has already given out traders $5.8 million in credit and an additional $10 million before the end of the year is also being planned to be issued.
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