It's easy to assume that the e-commerce ship has sailed when you consider that we have giant platforms like Shopify, Woocommerce, and Wix dominating the sector. But the e-commerce field remains vast and fertile, with many small businesses continuing to go online in the wake of the pandemic.
Further evidence of this has emerged in the form of one of the largest fundraisings undertaken by a startup in Turkey, given that the average Series A typically comes in at less than $15 million. E-commerce platform, ikas, has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round as it seeks to expand its operations into new markets in Europe. The company currently operates in Turkey and Germany, and says its platform simplifies store management for companies that want to have a digital presence.
This investment was led by the International Finance Corporation Fund, the investment arm of the World Bank Group.
Mustafa Namoglu, co-founder and CEO of ikas, told TechCrunch that the company will use the new funding for international expansion in Eastern Europe and the DaCH region.
“Most of Europe is mostly neglected or underserved by these giant US-based companies,” he said. “Global platforms lack customer service in local languages. It seems easy to get started with Shopify for example. But once you get started, you will need to add other plugins, and you may even need an agency to run it.
Namoglu said ikas can win customers against other platforms because it is closer to a “fire-and-forget” platform. “The number one reason our merchants choose us over others is the speed of the storefront, which gives them higher conversion rates. You can get this out of the box, even if you pay us €30 a month. The second reason is customer service. Third, we collect payments and shipping labels in Our core product, which means you don't need to go and negotiate with payment providers or shipping labels. “You're ready to go right away,” he said.
Namoglu previously founded MUGO, a fashion distribution and retail company, and launched ikas in 2017 with co-founders Tugay Karacay, Emrecan Çelikler, and Umut Ozan Yildirim.
IFC invests directly in companies as well as through private equity and venture capital funds.
Also investing in ikas is Re-Pie Asset Management, which also includes grocery delivery startup Getir in its portfolio. The round saw participation from ikas' existing investor Revo Capital, known as the first institutional investor in Getir, Param, Midas and Roamless.
