Turkish e-commerce platform modanisa.com has signed a partnership agreement with a consortium of Dubai-based venture capital firm Wamda Capital and Goldman Sachs, one of the world's leading investment banks. In a statement yesterday, the website announced that the consortium has applied to the Competition Authority (RK) to purchase a minority share in the company.
The agreement between Modanisa and Wamda Capital indicates the majority share of the company and the seniority in management will remain in hands of Turkish partners.
Modanisa, which aims to make Istanbul the most important centers for modest fashion, will be able to deliver products worldwide in maximum three days with its future logistics centers in Europe and the Middle East.
The e-commerce site set out in 2011 to cater to Turkey's growing modest fashion industry. It managed to get a third phase investment in eight years.
The company received its first investment from Aslanoba Capital in 2013, while the second phase investment came from Saudi firm STC Ventures and Wamda Capital. With these investments, Modanisa made significant contributions to the growth and development of global modest clothing market.
Holding an important place among Turkey's ready-to-wear online export companies, Modanisa has increased its export volume in its total turnover to 80 percent as of 2018.
Modanisa Chairman Kerim Türe said they will take important steps toward becoming a global brand with the new investment. "It will strengthen our e-commerce and logistics infrastructure. We will also have the opportunity to make more Turkish producers and brands global," he added.
Khaled Talhouni, one of the managing partners at Wamda Capital, said that Turkey's economic potential, one of the 20 largest economies in the world, was instrumental in this investment decision. "We are very pleased to make this investment decision with Goldman Sachs. We are one of the partners that made the first investments in Modanisa," Talhouni said. "This time our investment is the result of our belief in the success of a team that has opened its business to the world beyond our region. This investment will support Modanisa's goal of becoming world's leading name in modest apparel by continuing to grow its business."
