Jack Ma’s Netpreneur Prize Finalist, Afrikrea, Raises USD 1 Mn To Grow Unique eCommerce Business Beyond Côte d’Ivoire

Ivorian e-commerce startup, Afrikrea, has raised USD 1 Mn from Saviu, Showroomprive, and Id4 Ventures, to enable further development of its online commerce platform.

This is coming just months after the startup bagged USD 65 K for finishing in the top 10 at the inaugural Africa Netpreneur Prize sponsored by China’s richest man and Alibaba founder, Jack Ma, bringing the startup’s total funding to around USD 2 Mn.

The Abidjan-based startup is a marketplace for African-made, handcrafted fashion, art, and fabrics. As reported by TechPoint, the startup claims to have made over USD 5 Mn in sales across more than 6,000 shops in 101 countries and grown to a community of 300,000 users.

Afrikrea offers free shops with advanced products and transaction management tools to sellers, as well as insights and support on how to grow their business worldwide.

The platform also facilitates efficient exchanges with buyers at every point in the life-cycle of transactions via its messaging system, which it says records over 30,000 messages every month.

The startup earns from commissions on sales (usually 10-15 percent). Additionally, other services like promotions and visibility on the website or its social network community are also earning channels.

Afrikrea identifies with building the global infrastructure for African culture. With that in mind, the company claims to be currently enabling sellers from any country to ship worldwide with global logistics giant, DHL.

“We intend to share our infrastructure to all sellers aiming to export and build sustainable companies on Africa’s biggest assets — its people and culture,” Afrikrea’s co-founder and CEO, Moulaye Taboure said.

The funding will boost Afrikrea’s drive to not only grow its marketplace but also expand the team across Africa.

Featured Image Courtesy: TechPoint