Fashinza raises $20 mn as it aims to tap $800 bn global fashion mfg space

Fashinza was started to help small and medium ethical factories employing millions of workers connect with global demand and eliminate environmentally unsustainable practices like overproduction

Fashinza, a global B2B manufacturing marketplace, has raised $20 million in a mix of equity and debt as part of Series-A Funding. 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 the 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 invested in supply-chain technology and will also be used to expand the company’s presence and manufacturers' base globally, especially in the US and the Middle East. Previously, in 2020, Fashinza had raised $2.6 million from Accel and Elevation as a part of its seed round.

“Fashinza has grown over 20x in the last 12 months. Covid has ceased travel and complicated the global apparel supply chain,” said Pawan Gupta, CEO and co-founder, Fashinza. “Our AI-led technology platform automates everything from finding the right supplier to managing production across stakeholders.”

Team Fashinza is on a mission to create sustainable and futuristic supply chains for fashion brands while improving the lives of workers. They connect family-run small and mid-sized audited factories to the cloud with their mobile-based production management and visibility software.

Gupta said Fashinza was started 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,” said Gupta.

In May 2021, the company expanded its operations to New York with the aim of reinventing the $800 billion global fashion manufacturing for the e-commerce era, which is more agile, fast, transparent, and sustainable. The firm said its platform provides end-to-end online ordering for brands, complete production tracking from the factory floor, low MOQs (minimum order quantity), and fast but ethical production. For an industry addicted to low cost and overproduction, this could be a way to reduce wastage and its impact on the environment. In addition, they are solving critical problems of working capital and payment trust with embedded financing solutions like Net 60 payment terms.

“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 program where we offer Net 30/Net 60 payment terms for buyers,” said  Abhishek Sharma, COO, and co-founder, Fashinza. “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.”

They are currently present in 10 countries and have partnered with brands from the US, Canada, UK, Middle East, and India. At present, they're associated with over 150 leading brands including Forever 21, Hummel, Centrix Brands, and Amaro. Post pandemic, brands have been scrambling to diversify their supply chains, find new suppliers, and reduce their dependence on a single source. Multiple brands have used Fashinza to diversify their supply chains across countries like China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and India.

Pratik Agarwal, principal, Accel Partners, said it is inspired by Fashinza’s electric execution against their vision to help fashion brands adapt to the e-commerce era with Fashinza’s agile manufacturing capabilities. “We also admire Abhishek’s (Sharma) and Pawan’s (Gupta) priority to build a strong leadership team very early on,” said Agarwal. “The early success Fashinza has achieved serving global brands validates the massive opportunity they’re going after.”

Akarsh Shrivastava, vice president, Elevation Capital, said Covid-19 has further underscored the need for agility and responsiveness for brands. Over the past year, Fashinza has been able to design and deliver an offering that addresses multiple issues in the supply chain. “It has been a pleasure and privilege to work with Pawan, Abhishek and the rockstar Fashinza team as they disrupt this $600 billion opportunity,” said Shrivastava.