Zilingo raises $18 million in Series B funding round to expand in Southeast Asia region

Zilingo, the southeast Asia-based fashion marketplace, has raised $18 million funding in a Series B funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and Burda Principal Investments. Founded less than two years ago by ex-Sequoia analyst Ankiti Bose (CEO) and former Yahoo engineer Dhruv Kapoor (CTO), the startup helps Southeast Asia’s thriving independent fashion sellers and boutiques stores expand their businesses online. The latest funding round includes participation from existing backers Venturra Capital, SIG, Beenext and Wavemaker, as well as new investors — two angels — Tim Draper and Manik Arora, ex IDG Ventures India head, via his family office fund.

Ankiti Bose, CEO of Zilingo, commented that “A large part of this round is dedicated to growing in Indonesia. There’s no other comparable fashion brand, so we probably have a window of about a year to make to big before others follow”. She further added that “We are seeing 85 percent growth each month, that’s not something anyone has seen in other Southeast Asia markets. People spend a bit less on every transaction, but the behavior is crazy and they shop more times. We were initially really worried about logistics, because Indonesia is an archipelago, but it hasn’t been that hard. If your expectations are correctly set, it’s a great market”.