Kenyan fashion e-commerce startup, ShopZetu, has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to support its expansion plans.
The funding round was led by Chui Ventures, with participation from Launch Africa, Roselake Ventures, and Logos Ventures.
Notable angel investors, including Kendall Tang (CEO of RT Knits), Ben Munoz (co-founder and CEO of Nadine West), Sumit Bhasin (Estee Lauder Inc), Patricia Ithau (CEO of WPP Scangroup), and Peter Njonjo (co-founder and CEO of Twiga Foods), also joined the round.
With this fresh capital injection, ShopZetu is poised to scale regionally and attract international fashion brands. The company aims to broaden its portfolio by adding beauty and home décor categories to meet the growing demands of young, fashion-forward women across Africa.
By diversifying its offerings, ShopZetu seeks to position itself as a leading lifestyle platform, providing a one-stop-shop experience for its customers.
To facilitate its regional expansion, ShopZetu plans to conduct trial deliveries in Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, marking a significant step beyond its initial launch in Kenya in 2021. The startup also has ambitious goals to expand its vendor base, aiming to triple the number of vendors on its platform to reach 1,000.
ShopZetu was founded by Marvin Kiragu, CEO of the company, and Wandia Gichuru, Co-founder of the popular Kenyan fashion brand Vivo. Recognizing the challenges posed by a highly fragmented fashion industry with numerous offline and online sellers, Kiragu aims to streamline the shopping process, improve price visibility, and foster customer trust.
Through aggregation of the vast supply of fashion and lifestyle products under one virtual roof, ShopZetu aims to simplify and enhance the online shopping experience for consumers.
At present, ShopZetu boasts over 300 vendors, encompassing both large and small local manufacturers, as well as traders specializing in imported fashion goods. The platform already features an extensive range of more than 20,000 products, and vendor onboarding is free.
However, vendors are required to pay a commission for sales generated through the platform, as well as fees for additional services such as delivery.
ShopZetu further supports vendors by providing various services, including content creation, digital marketing, warehousing, last-mile delivery, and returns management, at subsidized costs to ensure their success online.
Over the past two years, ShopZetu has served more than 30,000 customers and facilitated the sale of over 100,000 products.
Since January 2021, the company has witnessed a remarkable 400% increase in monthly orders. As the sub-Saharan African fashion industry is predominantly dominated by second-hand clothing, ShopZetu aims to tap into the growing demand for affordable new clothing options.
With an increasing population of fashion-conscious and tech-savvy individuals, the startup believes that online fashion retail will surpass traditional retail to become the largest e-commerce category in Africa. ShopZetu’s mission is to cater to this evolving market and become a key player in shaping the region’s fashion landscape.
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