To build a more transparent and sustainable fashion supply chain, Fashinza, a B2B start-up, has raised US $ 20 million in a mix of equity and debt as part of series A funding.
Founded in 2020 by Abhishek Sharma and Pawan Gupta, Fashinza is a global B2B manufacturing marketplace with a mission to create sustainable and futuristic supply chains for fashion brands while improving the lives of millions of workers.
The round was co-led by marquee existing investors Accel Partners and Elevation Capital along with Abu Dhabi’s DisruptAD, Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital and Tradecred.
The round also saw participation of Anand S. Ahuja (MD, Shahi Exports & Founder, Bhaane) and actress Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, both of whom are vocal supporters of sustainable fashion.
The funds will be utilised to invest in supply-chain technology and expand the company’s presence and manufacturers’ base globally, especially in the US and the Middle East.
Previously, in 2020, Fashinza had raised US $ 2.6 million from Accel and Elevation as a part of its seed round.
Commenting on the fresh funding, Pawan Gupta, CEO & Co-founder, Fashinza, said, “Fashinza has grown over 20x in the last 12 months. COVID-19 has ceased travel and complicated the global apparel supply chain. Our AI-led technology platform automates everything from finding the right supplier to managing production across stakeholders. We started Fashinza because we wanted to help small and medium ethical factories employing millions of workers, connect with global demand and eliminate environmentally unsustainable practices of this industry like overproduction. By 2030, we want to build an environmentally net positive supply chain at a scale that doesn’t even cost extra.”
Abhishek Sharma, COO, and Co-founder, Fashinza, added, “Apart from the core offerings, we are also solving credit for fashion brands and suppliers in cross-border transactions through our Buy Now Pay Later programme where we offer Net 30/Net 60 payment terms for buyers. We solve working capital challenges for suppliers through an embedded fintech ecosystem that operates on our core supply chain technology and data. This allows the supply chain to operate ethically and ensure workers get paid fairly and timely.”
