Denis Opudo
La Reina is an Egyptian online platform gives women a chance for people to rent bridal gowns and evening dresses. The startup was co-founded by Amr Diab and Ghada El-Tanawy in 2016. The owners of the cloths who lend their clothes to the platform generate income from those who rent them. The startup has managed to raise more than $200,000 which has gone to the owners of dresses.
According to El-Tanawy, the startup’s main goal is to increase the number of their collection. It targets to grow the volume of its closet so as to get to 5,000 items by January 2019. Furthermore, the company targets to secure an investment to help it expand its market.
Recently, La Reina secured a funding round worth $1 million which was led by Algebra Ventures, an Egyptian leading venture capital. The venture was helped by 500 Startups from the US. Algebra Ventures is Cairo based venture capital fund that is worth $50 million. The startup majors in investment in technology firms that are in their early stages. Some of the firms that have benefited from it are Elmenus and Eventtus.
According to Algebra Ventures’ managing partner Zaid Mokhtar, they got attracted to La Reina due to its ability to use technology to maximize available opportunities in a sizable fashion sector in the Arabian region. La Rein is leading the role of transforming how Egyptians embrace fashion. Furthermore, the startup is the most modern regional startup to receive backing from 500 Startups. 500 Startups is known for its investment in the Middle East and North Africa.
Sharif El-Badawi, who happens to be a partner at 500 Startups, said that such ideas have been successful in the US. The US has low demand for such clothes since most people are in a position to buy their own as compared with Egypt. Therefore, this shows that the idea is on the verge of succeeding in the Egypt due to high demand.
