ShopEX, a multi-channel retail business, has raised pre-seed funding of $400,000 from Cape Town venture capital firm, HAVAÍC.
The investment forms part of a US$635,000 convertible notes round alongside existing angel investors, bringing total investment to date to $885,000 with previous participation from EchoVC and Expert Media Partners.
Founded in 2018 by Isi Abebe, ShopEX is on a mission to bring ‘teleshopping’ to the everyday life of Nigerians by creating direct to consumer live shopping experiences. The company mobilizes a combination of traditional and digital channels to market, sell, and distribute some of the world’s most successful ‘As Seen On TV’ brands in Nigeria and other African markets.
“The launch of ShopEx perfectly coincides with rising e-commerce and maturing logistics and payment platforms across Africa. These are vital components for creating a truly omnichannel experience,” said Abebe. “We look forward to rolling out an exciting pipeline of new products and bolstering our technology to deliver an exceptional customer experience and expand our offering into other markets.”
L-R: Founder, Isi Abebe, Country Manager, Olajumoke Kujero, General Manager/Head of Logistics, Ekene Achikeh
Going forward, ShopEx is poised to capture Africa’s fast-growing e-commerce market buoyed by high mobile phone penetration rates and social media growth. The company aims to become the QVC of Africa and go beyond transactional ecommerce or traditional brick-and-mortar stores to create engaging live shopping experiences for customers.
According to ShopEX Country Manager and ex Jumia Chief Marketing Officer, Olajumoke Kujero, customers can expect exciting initiatives in the near future.
“We are delighted to receive this funding from HAVAÍC, it’s a vote of confidence that gives us an extra boost in our journey to delivering Africa’s first truly omnichannel shopping experience across digital and traditional media.
”With exciting initiatives like our soon to launch ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ scheme and the various ongoing retail and affiliate partnership conversations in the works, our customers can expect to get the absolute best value for money spent on the quality globally acclaimed products we have in our offering.”
This latest funding round will enable ShopEx to continue growing its team, brand, product agreements, inventory, and operations into new markets with Ghana already underway.
“ShopEx has the experience and network to take advantage of arguably one of the most untapped retail opportunities in Africa,” added Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC. “What’s more, their scalable technology means ShopEx can leverage off social media and key partnerships with the likes of Multichoice, Jumia, and Alibaba to spearhead the growth of multi-channel shopping in the market.”
