HomeGermany-StartupsBerlin-based handmade marketplace DaWanda receives €4 million of expansion financing

Berlin-based handmade marketplace DaWanda receives €4 million of expansion financing

DaWanda, Europe’s biggest online marketplace for unique and handmade items, has announced raising €4 million of capital in their latest round of financing (Update – February 2023: The startup’s original link seems to re-direct to Etsy, so we have deactivated it).

This financial boost kind of comes as an early birthday present for the designer marketplace, which was founded in 2006 and will be five years old on December 3rd. The capital comes from newly won investor Vorwerk Ventures and existing shareholder Piton Capital, and will be used to develop and strengthen their international presence.

DaWanda has been operating profitably since 2010. With 120,000 designers, 1.5 million registered users and a web presence in German, French and English, DaWanda is already the European market leader within its segment – right behind Etsy, the US based originator of this concept. DaWanda’s goal now is to further strengthen this position.

Until now, DaWanda GmbH has been based in Berlin, but offices in Paris and other European countries will now be opened in the near future. One of the most strategically significant countries for DaWanda is France, which is now being addressed as a priority. Local staff who know the needs and wants of their local target groups will help the company to advance in target markets, adding to DaWanda’s current 62 employees.

“Their highly successful combination of e-commerce and social community makes for a pioneering internet business model,” said Dirk Meurer, Managing Director of Vorwerk Ventures.

DaWanda’s long-term investors and shareholders – Holtzbrinck Ventures, Team Europe Ventures, The European Founders Fund and Point Nine Capital – continue to be on board. Andrin Bachmann, partner at Piton Capital, stated: “We invest in online companies with strong network effects. These could be marketplaces or large communities. DaWanda combines both.”

By the way: You can find out about other interesting startups from Berlin in this list

Thomas Ohr
Thomas Ohr
Thomas Ohr is the "Editor in Chief" of EU-Startups.com and started the blog in October 2010. He is excited about Europe's future, passionate about new business ideas and lives in Barcelona (Spain).
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