[Funding alert] Fashinza raises $2.6M in seed round led by Accel Partners and Elevation Capital

Fashinza, a B2B manufacturing marketplace that solves apparel/fashion supply chain challenges by connecting fashion brands to experienced manufacturers, on Wednesday announced that it has raised a seed funding of $2.6 million.

The funds raised will be used by the Gurugram-based startup in solving apparel supply challenges by digitising the entire sourcing cycle from design to delivery. 

The round was led by Accel Partners and Elevation Capital with the participation of marquee individual investors – Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, co-founders of Snapdeal, and Alok Mittal, Co-founder of Indifi. 

“The funding that we have received is an acknowledgement of our potential to transform the apparel supply chain and it will be invested to facilitate our growth in different directions. We are expanding our network of manufacturers globally and are working with leading brands across 10 countries. Our mission here is to combine innovation with sustainability,” said Pawan Gupta, CEO and Co-founder, Fashinza.

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Founded in 2020 by IIT Delhi Alumni Pawan Gupta and Abhishek Sharma, Fashinza claims that it helps apparel and fashion brands outsource their manufacturing with complete transparency and reliability. The startup said it handles everything from design to delivery for partner brands. 

Fashinza added that it also helps global brands to work with lowest MOQs (Minimum Order Quantity) in the industry and have fast turnarounds. As of January 2021, it has 400 plus ethical partner factories across India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka. The startup counts brands like Forever21, Noon.com, FirstCry, The Souled Store, and Bewakoof.com among its customers.

“The time is right for Fashinza as they reinvent the $500 billion global fashion supply chain for the e-commerce era. Pawan and Abhishek are exceptional operators who put team and customer success first and have instilled the right cultural DNA in Fashinza very early on,” said Pratik Agarwal, Vice President, Accel Partners. 

According to Fashinza, the global apparel industry was set to reach a value of $1.5 trillion in 2020 with the global demand on the rise but the growth was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The European Union, the United States, and China are the three largest markets for the apparel industry while the APAC region has the highest growth rate, the startup said. Countries like China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and India have emerged as the leading suppliers in the industry, it added. 

“Apparel industry has undergone multiple shifts over the past decade. Rise of direct to consumer brands and advent of fast fashion have pushed brands and retailers to be faster and more agile. Fashinza, with its product and tech-led approach, is democratising this fast fashion supply chain, enabling both brands and suppliers with the wherewithal to navigate these shifts,” stated Akarsh Shrivastava, Vice President, Elevation Capital.