Egyptian fashion brand Opio raises seed funding round
Egypt’s Opio, a direct-to-consumer everyday women’s wear brand, has raised a $300,000 seed funding round from AUC Angels, local and regional angel investors, along with follow-on funding from Flat6labs Cairo.
Launched in 2017, Opio started as a digitally native vertical, capitalising on the long-abandoned Egyptian apparel industry and the surge in online shopping demand. Opio commissions white label manufacturing of women’s wear apparel to different manufacturers and offers it to its ever-growing customer base at competitive pricing through its digital platform.
Opio states that it caters to people’s desire for simplicity, seeking to eliminate the hassle of researching brands and choosing from numerous options, to make the shopping experience more effortless.
Shady Mokhtar, co-founder and CEO of Opio said, “What I see in this market is a huge supply-demand imbalance. Egypt has thousands of manufacturers with exceptional manufacturing capabilities yet, a total lack of modern-day customers requirements, up to date fashion trends and marketing know-how, specifically in digital marketing practices. On the other hand, we’ve witnessed some jaw-dropping internet penetration in Egypt the past 10 years, a hyper exposed gen Z, with very limited online offerings.”
Yaser El Khereji, CEO of Albasateen trading company and one of Opio’s lead investors commented, “We were impressed with Opio’s unique value proposition. We are planning on providing Opio with the logistical infrastructure they need to set up a strong foothold in the GCC region. With special attention to localising the brand to further appeal to the target demographic.”
Mariam Kamel of AUC Angels said, “Opio has been very responsive to market trends, both in terms of how it interacts with its clientele, and how it reacts to changes induced by the recent developments in the digitalisation of the shopping experience. They’ve revised their business plan when they’ve needed to and established key partnerships where it was beneficial. Shady and his team move fast, and always have news to share on what’s coming next.”
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