2014 was a very beautiful, defining moment. Zuvaa was born – a global marketplace for African fashion. Suddenly many Africans and friends of Africa discovered a new found way of connecting to the continent through fashion and style. The internet welcomed the platform with glee and a huge traffic of customers drowned its floodgates to admire and shop for clothing. Business was booming. Sales were coming in. Demand was high. Everything was perfect – or so it seemed. It all happened very fast. Perhaps a little too fast. Fast forward to 2019 and Zuvaa is no more. It has been an interesting year for African Fashion. So many things have happened in the industry but one of the saddest is probably the shutdown of the Zuvaa Marketplace. According to their website (as at April 2019), they are under new management and will be reopen again in 2020.
What happened to Zuvaa?
Zuvaa has decided to shut down and there could be various reasons for this but no one really knows the nitty gritty details. According to a public letter from the CEO to the community, they grew too fast and lacked the infrastructure to deal with the demand. The platform probably also needs ample time to deal with all the backlash from some of its customers and past vendors over its growing pains. One can only imagine that the reason for shutting down is to recover and bounce back better than before. It seems they envision recovering from their losses after almost a year-long hiatus. When Zuvaa returns, will it still compare with its former glory? They still have the dream but the big question is will the customers and vendors still support? The answer to both questions all lie in what the brand decides to do next.
Meanwhile, it seems vendors – both on the continent and in the Diaspora are taking ownership of a sticky situation by investing in their own online retail stores and creating social media content that connects with potential buyers. Brands such as Grass-Fields and Ofuure have created a unique shopping experience with their ever engaging website and Instragram content. Other marketplaces are also cropping up all over the place to sell clothing and already existing ones are experiencing more growth. Afrikrea, popularly known as the Etsy of African fashion recently grossed €2,000,000 in revenue last year according to an article by Bella Naija.
Zuvaa’s Current Situation
The company was pitched by Kelechi Anyadiegwu during Shark Tank Season 9, who was seeking an investment of $460,000 in exchange for 10% equity in the business. And as of writing this article years ago in 2019, the current state of Zuvaa during the shutdown was unknown. However, their Instagram page once indicated that there would be a new management. Was Zuvaa bought out by another company? Online reputation management is difficult. How will the new management clear the negative experiences associated with the Zuvaa brand? Even if they change their name, are customers still going to yield their trust? Questions remain and yet, there are still various opportunities in the market – so many that even Naomi Campbell admitted to Vogue that the untapped fashion potential of Africa is great.
What Happened to Zuvaa after Shark Tank? – 2023 Update
You might have found this article while searching for information on what actually happened to Zuvaa after the Shark Tank episode. Well, Zuvaa, still has an online presence on Tumblr, although it eventually rebranded to Ujuu Media in February 2020 but that too seems to have gone out of business. It is safe to say that the brand died a natural death.
This will be the final update!
Where to Find African Fashion Brands Online
If you are reading this post because you are looking for where to buy African fashion online, you should definitely check out earlier articles with suggestions of some Canada-based and United States-based brands. You can also subscribe to the newsletter and be the first to know about emerging African fashion brands, shopping opportunities, cool discounts, giveaways and much more!
Are you a seller or a buyer who has once used the Zuvaa Marketplace? Ever since the shutdown, are there any other platforms you are currently using to purchase African fashion? Please share your experience!
