30 Jun Haru: NI charity start-up wins £450k funding
Congratulations to new portfolio company, Haru, and its Co-Founders Jacques Hill and Sam Lynas on recently raising a £450k round.
This investment will allow the company to strengthen its digital offering and help them to help charities sell their goods more effectively. The Haru platform allows the charities to pick-up, process, store and sell high volumes of second-hand clothing and books.
Great to see private investors from HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network) and the Invest Northern Ireland CEIF Fund also participating in the round.
From The Belfast Telegraph:
Belfast e-commerce start-up Haru has secured a £450,000 investment to be used for strengthening its digital offering which allows charities to resell their goods. The investment has come from the Covid-19 Equity Investment Fund (CEIF), Co Fund NI, part of Invest NI’s Access to Finance portfolio, and private investors through the Halo & Business Angel Network (HBAN) Ulster Network.
The Haru platform is the first tech of its kind allowing the pick-up, processing, storage and sale of high volumes of second-hand clothing and books. Its service enables clothing brands to accept and resell second-hand products, while giving charities an online selling option with little effort or investment.
Haru has over 115 charity shops from across the UK registered on the platform and expects that number to increase to 400 by the end of 2021.
Co-founders Jacques Hill and Sam Lynas first started the business two years ago. Sam Lynas said: “We’re really excited to see where this funding can take us and we’re grateful to the investors at HBAN and the team at Co Fund NI who have recognised the growth potential in Haru.”
Jacques added: “Although 2020 was not an easy time to raise funds, it did solidify the importance of our offering as more consumers than ever turned to online shopping. We are also seeing more shoppers than ever looking for a sustainable option and our service gives charities and brands the opportunity to provide that option.”
Co-Fund NI is part of Invest NI’s Access to Finance portfolio, and managed by Clarendon Fund Managers.
CEIF is a £5m fund from Invest NI and also part of its Access to Finance portfolio.
It was set up to help early stage high-growth potential businesses in Northern Ireland access financing to progress their business plans and prepare for recovery from the pandemic.
HBAN was set up by Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland and Invest NI to promote business angel investment on both sides of the border.