Moko Home + Living, a Kenyan furniture company has raised Sh786.6 million ($6.5 million) to grow its business line.
The Serie B debt-financing round was led by Swiss investor AlphaMundi Group and U.S.-based investment fund Talanton.
Others that participated were Novastar Ventures, Blink CV as well as debt financing from Kenya’s Victoria Commercial Bank, which offered Sh242 million ($2 million) and Sh121 million ($1 million) mezzanine financing from Talanton, a debt that can be turned into equity.
The firm, which sales home equipments such as sofas, beds and mattresses, will use the fund to expand its business across the country through its digital platform, partner with more retailers as well as purchase more products.
“We entered this market because we saw a real opportunity to guarantee and deliver quality furniture. We also wanted to bring convenience to customers, by making it easy for them to buy home furniture, the largest asset for most families in Kenya,” Moko’s managing director and co-founder Eric Kouskalis told TechCrunch, an American online news platform.
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Founded in 2014, the firm was initially called Watervale Investment Limited that focused on addressing raw material supply chain problems for furniture makers.
In 2017, it shifted its core business to mattress before venturing fully into Moko Home, selling furniture products. The company, which has sold 370,000 products so far, said its business has grown five-fold in the last three-years.
“We plan to have an offering for each major piece of furniture in a typical home — bed frame, TV stand, coffee table, carpet. We are also developing even more affordable products in existing product categories — sofas and mattresses,” Kouskalis added.
SOURCE: Capital business
