UAE-based tech start-up Boksha has secured $1 million in seed funding from a group of investors, including Sandooq Al Watan and family offices.
The Emirati founded Boksha is an online marketplace for independent fashion designers from the region. This is the company’s first raise, and it has bootstrapped itself since its inception.
“We are very excited about our next chapter post funding closing and see tremendous growth opportunities in the region. Not only do we see this as a largely scalable business, but also one with significant social impact in terms of job creation, individual empowerment and export of regional talent,” said CEO and Boksha co-founder Yahya Mohamed Saleh.
The company will utilize the funds to scale up operationally and further invest into its technology to enter new markets in the region, starting with the GCC.
“Through our platform and tools, we believe we can give our designers access to a multi-billion-dollar fashion market globally – something most of them didn’t have access to before,” Saleh said.
Founded in 2018, Boksha now counts over 800 designers and offers 15,000 stock-keeping units (SKUs). It ships to more than 40 countries worldwide.
“More than 90 percent of our designers are Emirati females between the ages of 18 and 35, we expect to see a very similar demographic as we expand regionally,” he said.
The name Boksha, derived from an Arab Gulf dialect, refers to a piece of fabric traditionally used as a pouch or head carrier by female merchants for the storage of their garments and goods. The brand represents the small and independent, with a mission of empowering the region’s independent fashion designers with technology, so that they can expand their local reach to become global players.
Hind Baker, Director-General of Sandooq Al Watan, said, “Sandooq Al Watan is a national initiative launched by prominent Emirati businessmen to support innovators and talented Emiratis, and create every opportunity for them to thrive and unleash their full potential. This is the mandate our wise leadership entrusted us with. It is a mission we take seriously and are committed to fulfilling.”
“We are always open to any kind of bold and innovative ideas that can help diversify the UAE economy and prepare it for the post-oil era, in line with our mandate and the UAE leadership’s directives,” he added.
Boksha graduated from Sharjah Entrepreneurship Centre (Sheraa) in a program that began Feb. 2019.
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