MarketLeap, the e-commerce platform formerly known as Gonuggets, has recently completed a significant seed funding round, raising a total of €2.6 million to enhance global brand expansion. This AI-driven e-commerce operating system is engineered to streamline the process for digitally native brands to scale up their operations across various fragmented e-commerce channels with ease and efficiency.
With its headquarters in Luxembourg, MarketLeap has announced an infusion of €1.5 million in additional seed funding, bringing its total to €2.6 million. The funding round includes investments from Notion Capital, Kima Ventures, Motier Ventures, and previous backers such as Expon Capital. The newly acquired funds are earmarked for the advancement of the operating system’s technical aspects, including the introduction of novel services and support for the platform’s growth in the United States and the scaling of its UK operations.
The growth of online marketplaces offers substantial business expansion avenues for retailers. Marketplaces sold goods worth $3.25 trillion in 2022, and forecasts suggest that by 2027, third-party online marketplaces will account for 59% of global e-commerce sales transactions. MarketLeap is positioned to support brands in leveraging these opportunities by simplifying their expansion into these marketplaces, thereby making the process effortless, risk-free, and profitable from the outset.
MarketLeap was established in 2022 by Mamoun Benkirane and Mekki Mouaddeb, both former employees of e-commerce leaders Amazon and Jumia. Their combined experience includes the successful development and subsequent sale of an e-commerce fashion marketplace to a network company affiliated with the world’s most prominent fashion retailer. The rebranded MarketLeap is now focused on democratising e-commerce by enabling brands to rapidly launch into new marketplaces globally, thereby overcoming traditional e-commerce barriers.
Mamoun Benkirane, CEO and co-founder of MarketLeap, detailed the challenges brands face in reaching their marketplace potential, noting that many brands only tap into 0.2% of their total potential due to various constraints. MarketLeap’s mission is to alleviate these barriers, allowing brands to concentrate on their core passion of product development and sourcing.
Clients of MarketLeap, including Nordgreen, Defunc, Edible Health, and Guggenheimer Coffee, have reported substantial revenue growth, with some experiencing as much as a tenfold increase in sales within six months. This success is attributed to MarketLeap’s proactive identification of growth opportunities and strategic action implementation to foster brand development. The platform supports brands in over 30 countries and continues to expand its reach.
Jessika Nilsson, COO at Edible Health, attested to the benefits of partnering with MarketLeap, highlighting the platform’s tech-first approach and its impact in facilitating global market access for their products.
Owen Reynolds, Venture Partner at Expon Capital, expressed confidence in the MarketLeap team’s ability to distinguish their platform in the competitive e-commerce landscape. He emphasised the company’s innovative approach to enabling brands to expand globally and tap into previously inaccessible demand.
MarketLeap’s unique in-house developed platform is designed to enhance capital efficiency for clients and enable them to enter new markets more effectively, with reduced risk and increased predictability. Mekki Mouaddeb, COO and co-founder, emphasised the integration of the platform with several partners, including third-party logistics and financial service providers. This integration manages operational complexities and supports scaling partner brands by holding inventory within a fully outsourced supply chain network and offering favourable payment terms.
In contrast to other e-commerce entities that may prioritise rapid growth at the expense of creating tech debt and inefficiencies, MarketLeap places technology at the forefront. The company is committed to establishing a strong tech foundation that is essential for scaling profitable businesses.
Concluding the announcement, Benkirane spoke of the company’s success with its proprietary technology in efficiently launching and scaling brands on multiple e-commerce marketplaces. The recent funding is set to accelerate the enhancement of MarketLeap’s feature suite and its expansion into new channels and countries. The goal is to develop a new layer of tech infrastructure that will seamlessly connect thousands of brands with hundreds of marketplaces.
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