Markato Secures $5 Million Funding Led by Lightspeed 💰

Markato, a revolutionary cross-border marketplace that seeks to simplify the wholesale operations in Asia, launched in Hong Kong 🚀. This startup has already secured $5 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed, a venture firm making its first investment in the region.

• About Markato: ✨ Markato was founded by Brian Lo and Martin Li, both of whom have had successful stints at major companies like Deliveroo and Uber. They envision Markato as a platform that will capitalize on the potential of the B2B wholesale business model in Asia, the world's largest retail market.

• Goals: 🎯 Markato aims to assist independent brands that lack the resources and knowledge to penetrate the Asian market. This platform eliminates the need for these brands to build local teams or collaborate with traditional wholesalers to overcome cultural and language barriers inherent in expanding to new markets.

• Benefits for Retailers and Brands: 👍 Markato offers personalized product recommendations and access to wholesale prices from European, American, and Australian brands. It provides a 60-day buy now, pay later option and 90-day free returns, reducing the risk of unsold inventory.

• Current Status and Future Plans: 📈 Currently, Markato has a team of 19 employees and has worked with over 200 brands, with about 80% of these brands previously unavailable in Asia. It plans to expand to 2,000 buyers and brands in the coming months.

Looking to the future, Markato plans to expand across the entire Asian region, beginning with Singapore 🌏. The funding will be used to boost its engineering, product, and business development teams, develop proprietary technology, improve logistics infrastructure, and enhance data analytics.