Tech in Africa
Opio, Egypt’s – a Direct To Consumer (DTC) women’s wear platform just raised $300K in seed funding from AUC Angels and other local and regional angel investors. This was a follow-on funding from Flat6labs Cairo.
Opio was launched in 2017 as a digitally native vertical that capitalizes on Egypt’s long-abandoned apparel industry driving the surge in demand for online shopping. Opio runs white label and toll manufacturing women’s apparel to different manufacturers.
In comments shared on Wamda, Shady Mokhtar, the CEO, and co-founder pointed out a huge supply-demand market imbalance pointing out Egypt’s thousands of manufacturers with exceptional manufacturing capabilities and a lack of modern-day customer requirements, and up to date fashion and marketing know-how in the area of digital marketing.
Internet penetration across Egypt in the past decade has exploded significantly thanks to a highly engaged generation Z. Opio hopes to save the client the hassle of researching brands instead of choosing from multiple options that make the shopping experience more effortless. The company has strong connections with local manufacturers, markets, and distribute their own products without relying on middlemen.
Opio’s co-founder, designer-in-chief, and creative director Reem Abdellaftif said, “Egypt is full of design and creative talent“. Yaser El Khereji, the CEO of Albasateen trading company and one of Opio’s lead investors was impressed by the company’s “unique value proposition“.
The company is banking on the rise in sales attributed to the pandemic. Mariam Kamel from AUC Angels pointed out Opio’s “responsiveness to market trends” and how it reacts to its clientele.
