B2B Marketplace The Folklore Secures USD 3.4 M Seed Funding

The Folklore, a B2B marketplace helping fashion brands from emerging markets like Africa, Asia and The Caribbean tap into the international market, has secured USD 3.4 M raised in a seed funding round led by Benchstrength, a VC firm by ex-General Catalyst partners Kenneth Chenault Jr. and John Monagle, with the participation of existing investors Slauson & Co., Techstars and Black Tech Nation Ventures. The capital brings total funding raised by the startup to USD 6.2 M.

Founded in 2018 by Amira Rasool, the Folklore is an e-commerce retailer to help African fashion designers gain more economic opportunities. Among its latest offerings is The Folklore Capital, offered by its partners, allowing brands to receive loans of up to USD 1 M as working capital. Its other offering is a labor marketplace for brands not in a position to hire full-time teams but require talent occasionally. Its community of brands recommends the talent or manufacturer, who are listed on the marketplace after several stages of vetting.

The capital injection will strengthen the company’s previous pivot in 2022 from being an e-commerce site specialised in selling fashion from African brands and those with diasporic roots to global consumers to being a business-to-business venture helping emerging brands enter retailers