Nigeria's Taeillo secures $2.5M funding from Aruwa Capital to expand its footprints

African early-stage growth equity and gender lens fund, Aruwa Capital Management (“Aruwa”) has invested $2.5 million in the female-founded furniture manufacturing company, Taeillo.

Taeillo, an online furniture manufacturer and retailer, was founded by Jumoke Dada in 2018. Initially a B2B company, in mid-2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Taeillo pivoted to a direct-to-consumer approach, citing a change in the market after several walk-in stores halted operations. This decision proved to be a success as Taeillo quickly gained popularity with the launch of its "Amakisi" table, selling more than 1,000 pieces in six months.

Since then, Taeillo has expanded into 10 additional product categories, entered the Kenyan market, and shipped more than 10,000 pieces of furniture to over 5,000 customers in both countries. In 2021, Taeillo raised a $150,000 bridge round from CcHUB Syndicate, tripling its revenue from the previous year.

However, Taeillo has struggled to meet demand, citing extended wait times due to working with third-party providers, including suppliers and logistics services.

With the new funding, Taeillo plans to reduce delivery times by pre-manufacturing some of its best-selling furniture and to scale its "Pay with Flexi" product, allowing customers to buy furniture and pay in installments.

Taeillo also plans to increase its use of augmented reality and virtual reality technology to power virtual showrooms and increase its marketing efforts in this area.