Kenyan start-up Powered by People raises $1.5m seed funding
Kenyan e-commerce start-up, Powered by People, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding to expand its team and grow its fintech platform for local retailers.
The round was led by Matt Kalish of DraftKings and TBD Angels.
The funding will be used to expand its team and grow its fintech platform for local retailers.
Other angel investors who are affiliates with DraftKings, Skillz and Uber, and impact investors, Good+Well, also participated in the round.
Powered by People’s previous investors and financial supporters include Founders Factory Africa, Mercy Corps and the Mastercard Foundation.
Powered by People is a mobile-first, distributed manufacturing system offering online tools, financing solutions, and a B2B marketplace to the small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the creative manufacturing and handmade sector.
The start-up connects handmade and natural cosmetic producers across Africa, Asia and Latin America via a wholesale platform, offering retailers credit lines with flexible payments, discovery of diverse global brands and products, and the ability to customise products for exclusive offers in their store.
Its brands are global suppliers to companies such as William Sonoma, IKEA, Crate and Barrel, Nordstroms and Goop, among others.
“The landscape for B2B marketplaces has changed, we are building the future of retail to be more digital, more diverse, and more transparent. Off of a fresh round of funding, we will be able to support access for a whole new class of artisans to compete in the mainstream retail market,” says the start-up’s co-founder and CEO, Ella Peinovich.
Read next: Kenyan paytech Popote raises funding from GreenHouse Capital
