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!
I’m a seasoned communications and marketing consultant with a penchant for all things stylish and chic. Follow me on social media and subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates on industry trends and much more!
I have purchased items from Tufafii, but thier customer service leaves much to be desired. I returned an item and even though the firm initially offered to remake the garment and expand its offerings to fit plus size women, 6 weeks later I still have not received my replacement item.
There is a US office listed for returns, I followed the instructions to the letter, provided the USPS tracking information and I have neither received a credit for $126 I spent on the skirt or the replacement garment. I have had numerous generic emails that confirm my attempts to contact customer service, but no product, as of this writing on September 26, 2019. The original item was ordered August 2, 2019.
Author
Hello Charlotte, thank you for sharing your experience. I am quite surprised to hear about your recent encounter. In any case, the brand was alerted as soon as your comment was received and I do sincerely hope that the situation has been resolved by now. Please continue to share your experiences with the rest of the community!
The issue has not been resolved. All I get is empty words about they will do and as of 10/12/19 they have not honored their word.
Hello Charlotte,
Please accept our sincere apologies for this.
We will follow up on the issue and resolve it as quick as possible as we value every customer.
I had the same issue as Charlotte described. is there a contact email besides the one listed under customer support?
Author
Hello T.Sora,
You might want to try contacting the brand through the chatbox or Whatsapp number on their website.
Thank you for your article.
I was once a vendor at Zuvaa and until this day I am still owed a lot of money. The experience with Zuvaa was one that has left me feeling incredibly disappointed because I truly hoped that as a community we could finally do something positive together, something that would have been created by us and for us and instead it just feels like I got robbed by someone I trusted. The whole situation has been a huge learning experience. Anyways, nowadays, I focus my attention more on building up my website at http://www.sosomeshop.com and http://www.sosome.co.uk. The traffic is not as great as it was with Zuvaa because understandably, customers are weary of random websites but it is still a work in progress.
My hope is that, who ever takes over Zuvaa will do right and pay us vendors who have suffered severe lost because of Zuvaas actions!
Author
Hello Jeni,
It is really heartbreaking to hear what you had to go through and I commiserate deeply with your situation. As a brand, you will definitely deal with different people in the industry and I am hoping for better, more rewarding experiences that we can collectively celebrate as a community. If I may mention, I guess the bright side is that within African fashion, there is still so much room for brands like yours to innovate. The truth is that good designs are only one part of the picture. By taking creative control of branding and marketing, there is a chance to stand out amongst the rest. So, I really commend your efforts on building up your website. Please continue to keep going!
Per other platforms available to buy trendy African clothing, I definitely recommend Oludan (www.oludan.com). Fantastic reviews, great selection and exceptional customer service as seen on their website and their shop on Etsy.
Author
Wow! Thanks for the platform recommendation. I am heading over to there now to go check it out.
I’m really saddened to hear about Zuuva’s closing. I have been wondering for some time why I haven’t seen much from them, looked them up online and came across this story. It’s a shame because this could have been something huge. At a time like this, when we need black businesses to be highlighted, Zuuva could have been at the forefront for African fashion. I’ve been lucky enough to discover Ofuure, which is an African fashion marketplace as well. I’ve bought a couple of things from them & have happily received them in great timing. I hope Zuuva can make a successful return as we need as many voices highlighting black fashion as possible.
Author
Hello Sherry,
Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to drop a comment. I am glad you are at least finding out about some brands directly through your own research. Zuvaa is now Ujuu Media and they are still very much committed to showcasing African fashion. You can discover some brands via their platform. In the meantime, please check out this article where I highlighted some top brands in Canada that are worth knowing: https://jamilakyari.com/where-to-buy-african-fashion-in-canada/
thank you for this info! I had no idea they were relaunched already. I’m so excited to check out their new space as well as your list!
Author
Sounds absolutely fantastic! Take care!
Hi Jamila,
Great article. My wife and I are looking to purchase African prints for an event we have in mid-August. We don’t have a lot of time to play around with fake companies with non-existent customer service. Would you be able to recommend a reputable company/site that is US-based, preferably in the northeast – NY/NJ/PA/CT?
Thank you.
Author
Hello Curtis,
Please check out D’iyanu – https://www.diyanu.com/
D’iyanu is located in Norristown, PA in the United States and their customer service phone number is: 484-681-4705. They offer a range of both dressy and casual African clothing. I am sure you will find something suitable for your August event. Let me know how it goes!
Zuvaa becoming Ujuu Media was a really rough transition. As a previous employee of Ujuu Media, it truly was a shocker to see so many items (at least 52 storage bins) that were from Zuvaa vendors simply donated to Goodwill instead of at least sending them back to vendor that spent time, money and resources into creating the items. While things do not always go as planned, you would hope at least to take care of the very people that helped scale the business.