B2B eCommerce Platform Powered by People Raises $5M

Kenya-based B2B eCommerce platform Powered by People is a bit more powerful these days.

The company has raised $5 million in seed funding, according to a Monday (March 21) report by the website CIO Africa.

The startup says it will use the seed money to increase is transaction volume by adding to the number of small brands using its marketplace to connect with international buyers.

“We have new vendor tools we are launching this quarter that will help streamline and automate things to help these businesses take bigger orders and grow. We are also investing in building our senior leadership,” Co-founder and CEO Ella Peinovich said in the report.

The company works with more than 200 brands and 45,000 artisans from 47 countries, who sell to retailers like West Elm and The Citizenry, across major markets including in North America and Asia. Powered by People recorded an annualized run rate of $15 million in total gross merchandise value by the middle of March, and expects that number to rise to $25 million by year’s end, CIO Africa said.

“We are providing these businesses with new visibility into the specialty retail market in North America. We have also introduced them to wholesale, which we think is the best way to source from any country, and make business sense too,” Peinovich said.

Read more: African B2B Marketplace Wasoko Takes On Supply Chain Inefficiencies

The latest funding round was led by Susa Ventures and Golden Ventures with participation from a number of investors including Flexport Ventures, J Ventures, and the founders of DraftKings and Fabric. The seed round brings Powered by People’s total funding to $7 million, having previously gotten financing from a number of investors including the Founders Factory Africa, Mercy Corps and the Mastercard Foundation.

Powered by People’s funding comes during a busy time in the African B2B eCommerce space. On Monday, PYMNTS spoke with Daniel Yu, global CEO and founder of the Africa-focused B2B eCommerce startup Wosako.

The company, which does business in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, recently raised $125 million in funding and rebranded itself from “Sokowatch.”