London - Sewport, the online fashion manufacturing marketplace, which seeks to ‘matchmake’ emerging and established fashion designers and brands with manufacturers around the world, has secured 650,000 pounds investment to fund its future growth.

Launched at the end of 2017 by Latvian entrepreneur Boris Hodakel, Sewport is a fully-automated marketplace that has attracted more than 500 manufacturers and suppliers, as well as more than 4,000 brands internationally, and its investment from venture capital fund, Fuel Ventures will be used to hire additional employees to help with technical development and customer success, as well as market the service.

Currently, around 90 percent of Sewport’s customers are based in the UK and US, and the company will be using the investment to replicate this success within other countries, with a particular focus on Europe.

In addition, the company is also looking to create free and publicly available educational material for emerging brands.

Sewport founder, Hodakel, said in a statement: “When we started a little more than 10 months ago our mission was to give everyone, whether they’re the chief executive 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.”

Fuel Ventures invests in Sewport to fund future growth

Sewport states that its mission is to give people around the world a chance to turn their “visions into real-life products”, whether they’re a full-time designer at a big brand, or someone with an idea for a product they can’t find on the high street.

Hodakel added: “We started this company because there are millions of people out there who are constantly searching for products and items of clothing that they need, but just can’t find. Whether it be maternity lingerie or tailored clothes for different sized people – we give everyone a chance to create anything they want in the easiest way possible. One of our biggest goals is to make the fashion and design world accessible to the masses, as well as to help educate emerging brands.”

Fuel Ventures is a venture capital firm that specialises in providing seed funding to early stage technology companies and provides entrepreneurs with expertise and insights in business development, marketing and brand-building through its experience of building, scaling and exiting global companies.

Images: courtesy of Sewport