Nigeria: Aruwa Capital invests in furniture company
Aruwa Capital Management announced an investment into Taeillo, a Nigeria-based technology-enabled furniture company that locally manufactures and retails mass market and premium Afrocentric furniture and lifestyle products across various product categories, selling directly to its B2C and B2B customers through its e-commerce platform.
Founded in 2018, Taeillo launched as a custom furniture designer serving its B2B clientele, however, in 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for the company to serve B2C customers who needed locally manufactured furniture pieces. The company took advantage of this opportunity and pivoted to a direct-to-consumer business with the launch of the Amakisi table at an affordable price point of ₦29,999/c. $85. The table quickly gained popularity due to its quality, elegant design and affordability, resulting in the company selling over 1,000 pieces of the Amakisi table in short period of time. Since then, demand for the company’s furniture has continued to increase rapidly, causing the team to expand into 10 additional product categories and into East Africa, to meet growing demand.
The company has also incorporated augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technology into its e-commerce platform to enhance customers’ shopping experience, by creating an immersive experience on the website where customers can shuffle between materials, colours and furniture dimensions before making a buying decision. Leveraging VR technology, the company is also able to rapidly expand across regions without incurring additional showroom costs, typical with traditional furniture businesses as they offer virtual showrooms to customers. Taeillo is now present in two African countries: Nigeria and Kenya.
Jumoke Dada, founder and CEO of Taeillo said, “We are excited to partner with Aruwa Capital on our journey and welcome them as equity investors in the business. The Aruwa team has been instrumental in providing strategic guidance and making necessary introductions to facilitate our global growth and expansion plans. This investment by Aruwa Capital will take us closer to our goal of becoming the IKEA of Africa by providing quality, ready-to-assemble, made-in-Africa furniture pieces at an affordable price point for the mass market, while also optimising our operations, delivery time, and customer experience. We are grateful to the Aruwa Capital team for their belief in our vision.”
Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, founder and managing partner of Aruwa Capital said, “We are thrilled to announce this investment into Taeillo as it aligns with nearly all of our investment objectives. Since inception, the company has maintained its innovative model in a traditional brick and mortar industry, creating a unique value proposition for its customers in a fast-growing, underserved market. By leveraging technology in its value chain, Taeillo has been able to achieve exponential growth in less than two years, achieving results that take traditional furniture companies decades to achieve. In line with Aruwa’s gender lens investing strategy, Taeillo is founded and led by a woman, and has a 50% female representation in its management team. We are very confident in the company’s ability to scale across Africa and are thrilled to be partnering with the team for the exciting journey ahead.”