After raising US$16 million in venture funding from backers including Alibaba, online apparel brand Grana Group has boosted its coffers with an undisclosed amount in venture debt.
The three-year-old online fashion startup will use the funds, from Hong Kong asset manager STI Financial Group, to improve its cash-flow management and advance its use of artificial intelligence for customer engagement. Using venture debt means the company can grow its business without having to dilute its share capital while working toward series-B funding at the end of next year, reports Deal Street Asia.
Based in Hong Kong, the startup was founded by Australian entrepreneur Luke Grana. Its earlier funding included $6 million in seed money and $10 million as a series-A round.
The company has an 18,000sqft (1700sqm) global distribution centre that ships to 67 markets. It has also opened 15 pop-up showroom-experience centres across Hong Kong, Singapore, the US and Australia.
