Manila, April 03, 2022 – Armada Manufacturers, a Philippine e-commerce aggregator, raises $1.3M in pre-seed funding to spend money on e-commerce entrepreneurs trying to scale their manufacturers.

For the reason that begin of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was an emergence of 70 million new internet buyers in Southeast Asia, in accordance with a report from Fb and Bain & Firm. The report predicts that by 2026, there might be a whopping 380 million customers throughout the complete area. This presents a major alternative for entrepreneurial Southeast Asians with thrilling merchandise to promote.

Nevertheless, not all eCommerce manufacturers are geared up with the know-how and bandwidth to capitalize on this momentum and journey the tidal wave of latest shoppers. Be it working out of inventory, having to carry again on their promoting spend and product enlargement plans, or being overwhelmed by nonstop requests from clients, entrepreneurs are sometimes unable to unlock the complete potential of their model. They lack capital, operational capability, and scaling functionality.

That is the place Armada Manufacturers lends a hand. Their supply: To assist entrepreneurs flip their model imaginative and prescient into actuality, by pairing the model’s founder with a resourceful operator.

As an e-commerce aggregator, the startup firm invests in 5-star D2C manufacturers with excessive potential and provides them capital alongside day-to-day operational assist via their skilled workforce of consultants, infrastructure, and know-how – from business administration equivalent to branding, digital advertising, and channel administration, to operations equivalent to warehousing, achievement, and customer support. Entrepreneurs contribute product concepts, client data, and a compelling and genuine model story to have interaction with their followers. Collectively, they then construct the model and scale all of it all through Southeast Asia, with the intention of rising gross sales and earnings by 10x+ inside 1-2 years.

Distinctive to Armada Manufacturers is their partnership mannequin. Typical to different aggregators, entrepreneurs get the primary payout. Nevertheless, not like different aggregators, Armada purchases lower than 100% of their manufacturers, whereas the entrepreneurs retain a large stake within the firm in order that their heads — and pockets — stay within the sport. In spite of everything, Armada Model is entrepreneur-focused: serving to companion entrepreneurs flip their imaginative and prescient of the model into actuality.

Armada has just lately closed its first funding right into a fast-growing and well-loved style model began and run by a Filipina mum with a powerful entrepreneurial drive alongside a treasure trove of latest and sizzling product concepts. Armada will assist her in pushing the model within the direct-to-consumer (D2C) in addition to market channels, increasing the product assortment, and bringing the model into the US market.

The brand new injection of capital will go in the direction of making further investments within the weeks forward and increase a workforce of high e-commerce expertise that can then assist these manufacturers. There are dozens extra up-and-coming manufacturers within the pipeline, of which some have already handed due diligence and are in superior discussions to shut a deal.

Helming the corporate are two co-founders with a deep background in deal-making, M&A, e-commerce in Southeast Asia, and enterprise constructing. CEO Andreas Hufnagl is a former McKinsey advisor and personal fairness funding skilled and COO Gelo Torres is an e-commerce skilled and entrepreneur who had beforehand constructed a globally profitable model.

The pre-seed funding spherical of $1.3M was co-led by the enterprise capital corporations M Enterprise Companions and Foxmont Capital Companions. Kaya Founders—the early-stage funding agency helmed by Paulo Campos (Co-Founder & Chairman of Zalora Philippines) and Lisa Gokongwei Cheng—was Armada’s earliest backer, and topped up on their funding. Lastly, the spherical noticed participation from high VCs equivalent to Antler and Sketchnote. Enterprise angels and advisors embody Constantin Robertz (Co-Founder & CEO Locad), Jannis Dargel (Co-Founder & COO Locad), and different senior executives from marketplaces and enablers throughout Southeast Asia.

“Collectively, they possess the mandatory know-how to companion with and aggressively scale on-line native manufacturers, beginning within the Philippines which is in itself a large alternative,” mentioned the founding companion of M Enterprise Companions, Mayank Parekh, who’s becoming a member of the board of Armada.

With hundreds of rising goal manufacturers already out there and hundreds of latest manufacturers becoming a member of month-to-month, Armada Manufacturers goals to place itself as a next-generation D2C model home, with an armada of 100+ category-leading manufacturers throughout Southeast Asia, led by visionary eCommerce entrepreneurs.

About Armada

Armada invests in profitable e-commerce manufacturers run by native entrepreneurs. The corporate supplies progress capital to finance working capital and working bills. It types a partnership with the entrepreneurs to drive vital progress in gross sales, combining the credibility of the founder with the resourcefulness of the eCommerce aggregator.