Bangladesh Angels & International Consortium Invest into Nitex
[Dhaka, Bangladesh] — Bangladesh Angels, the pioneering angel investment network in the country, has closed a pre-seed investment round into Nitex, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that digitizes the garment procurement process and allows buyers of all sizes around the world to seamlessly manage their supply chains in countries like Bangladesh. Accelerating Asia, an investment firm and accelerator based in Singapore, along with SputnikATX, an accelerator based in Austin, Texas, participated in this round, alongside individual angels.
Despite Bangladesh being one of the top garment exporters in the world, until very recently the local garment industry has struggled to penetrate the growing market for Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and SME brands that are taking market share away from traditional retailers. This trend has only accelerated during Covid. Bottlenecks include a lack of digital presence by Bangladeshi manufacturers, high minimum order quantities and legacy business and financing models built on servicing large volume customers.
Nitex empowers these consumer-facing SME fashion brands by providing a cloud-based platform to manage the end-to-end aspects of sourcing, from design, to manufacturing and shipping. Everything is monitored online, meaning brand owners do not have to travel physically to manage their vendors. Nitex manages everything in the back-end, making sure that the production process is on time, within budget and high quality. In return, it takes service cost on the transaction value of these orders. In the process, the founding team is leveraging their unique combination of working in both tech startups and buying houses.
“Despite being THE major driver of Bangladesh’s economy, there is a glaring gap of indigenous startups in Bangladesh that are introducing digital innovation at scale in the garment value chain. Through their unique combination of backgrounds and skills, Arifin [the CEO] and Mahdi [CTO] are well-positioned to drive the next phase of growth in the garment industry for Bangladesh and across the region,” says Nirjhor Rahman, CEO of Bangladesh Angels. When considering investment, each individual group within the consortium cited the extreme grit and perseverance that the founders have shown keeping the company’s operations growing against the backdrop of Covid when demand for fashion apparel around the world disappeared. This was especially true in Bangladesh, where the industry went through a shock of cancelled orders. Among other measures, the Nitex team mobilized their supplier network to provide personal protective equipment and industrial apparel.
The investment from BAN, Accelerating Asia and SputnikATX are being used to develop the technology platform and a well-rounded team to execute on the business model. Since the investment in the late summer of 2020, at the height of Covid, the team has been able to open sales offices and channels in both the Netherlands, for Europe, and US, and has increased their monthly run rate to six figures in USD. They have also secured major clients and projects worth seven figures, putting them on track to raise a Series A in 2022.
The official signing was done virtually.
For further details, interested parties can reach Nirjhor Rahman, CEO, Bangladesh Angels, at nirjhor.rahman@bdangels.co or +8801706356116.
About Bangladesh Angels Network
Launched in 2018 with support from local and international stakeholders, Bangladesh Angels Network is the nation’s first angel investment network created with a mission to nurture the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Bangladesh. We help startups and rising enterprises accelerate their growth through customized pre-investment support, connections to local and global investors as well as mentorship and market development. Investors get access to a highly curated deal-flow across sectors, invest alongside industry leaders and post-investment portfolio monitoring. Prospective angel investors and entrepreneurs can go online to sign up for the network or apply for funding via www.bdangels.co.
About Nitex
NITEX is a one-stop shop for small to medium fashion brands across the EU and North America. 98% of the brands do not have an affordable and established supply chain to design, manufacture and ship. NITEX makes it insanely easy for them to build a sophisticated supply chain like any major label in the world for their own clothing labels at no cost within a few minutes. Through our platform, brands can manage every aspect of the production, monitor progress and assure quality remotely.
