Online fashion manufacturing platform Sewport secures £650,000 investment

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 9, 2018

Less than a year after its launch, Sewport has raised a £650,000 investment from Fuel Ventures for its online platform, which connects fashion designers and brands with manufacturers around the world.

The UK’s first fully-automated fashion manufacturing marketplace has attracted more than 500 manufacturers and suppliers and over 4,000 brands since launching at the end of 2017.

Founder Boris Hodakel said the investment will be used to boost the site’s global growth, particularly in Europe, after achieving success in the UK and US where around 90% of customers are based. More staff and a higher marketing budget are also top priorities, with the aim of continuing with the marketplace’s technical development and promoting its services. Additionally, the company plans to create free and publicly available educational material for emerging brands.

“When we started a little more than 10 months ago our mission was to give everyone, whether they’re the CEO of Gucci, or a student in Bristol, a chance to create exactly what they wanted, and that hasn’t changed. We’ve got thousands of designers all around the world using Sewport to find the perfect manufacturers for them, and with this investment we’re hoping to give even more people a chance to become fashion designers,” said Boris Hodakel, founder of Sewport.

“The money’s going to be spent in marketing our service, employing additional staff and expanding into more countries around the globe. When I came to the UK five years ago I knew that I wanted to create something special to help others out there turn their visions into reality, and it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come since then – especially since the end of last year, when Sewport was born.”

Sewport serves both full-time designers and people with an idea for a product they can’t find on the high street, and aims to give people a platform to turn their visions into real-life products.

Fuel Ventures is a venture capital firm that specialises in supporting early stage companies.