Gahez, an Egyptian online fashion marketplace, has raised $2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Disruptech Ventures, with participation from Egypt Ventures, Tanmeyah, Afropreneur fund, and other angel investors, Wamda.com reported.
Founded towards the end of last year, Gahez aims to simplify the process between retailers and manufacturers and boost the online trading cycle. The startup focuses on a data-driven approach to help fashion merchants sidestep procurement headaches.
Gahez also offers merchants on-credit facilities to make the collection process less burdensome while tapping third-party aggregators to handle cash settlement with suppliers, according to the report.
“We are on a mission to revolutionize the way retailers shop for their stores by relieving the stress of managing and sourcing. We believe that the Egyptian/African apparel market is untapped and widely fragmented, which provides Gahez with the perfect opportunity (relying on technology) to scale and position itself within the sphere,” Gahez co-founder and CEO Wael Olama said.
“The market size of apparel in Egypt amounts to $24 billion, rendering the market potential infinite. Alongside Egypt’s exports around $2 billion worth of apparel mostly to the U.S. and EU markets, there’s a huge potential for growth in the African markets, and this can happen rapidly only through the digital world,” Olama added.
Gahez’s platform provides both brands and manufacturers with the necessary solutions to power sales, marketing and analysis. The tools are intended to help companies streamline operations and target the best products for business growth.
Since launching, Gahez has grown its presence to 16 out of 27 governorates across Egypt and is working with more than 15,000 merchants and 142 manufacturers. The startup has also onboarded 4,000-plus SKUs.
The new investment will be used by Gahez to build out its technology and recruit talent for future expansion.
