Jumoke Dada, founder of technology-enabled furniture company, Taeillo raises $2.5million for expansion.
Taeillo is an Afro-centric furniture brand that manufactures high-quality and luxurious furniture pieces inspired by African art and culture.
The company was founded by Jumoke Dada, a graduate of the University of Lagos where she got a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and a Master’s in Environment design. Her fascination with woodwork and desire for Africa to be more self-sufficient and less dependent on importation sensitized her into establishing Taeillo.
Taeillo, founded in 2018, started by creating furniture pieces for office spaces. The brand uses locally procured raw materials and traditional fabrics to construct visually-pleasing, contemporary furniture with African names that enhance their appeal. They intensified their focus on home furniture in 2020 when one of Taeillo’s tables went viral for its simple elegance, selling 1000 pieces within a short period.
The E-commerce furniture company is also commended for its use of technology to sell its products. An example is the use of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality(AR/VR) to show how a furniture piece would look in a space before purchase.
The $2.5 million investment by Aruwa Capital Management will enable Taeillo to expand in Africa, and facilitate a satisfying customer experience by reducing production and delivery time and launching more products valued by Africans.
Aruwa Capital Management, a women-owned and led equity fund, is a VC firm bridging the gender funding gap in Africa. Aruwa’s gender lens investing strategy includes investing in female-founded and led startups with women holding 50% of management roles in the company.
