Italian Artisan closes a 1,300,000 Euro seed round

14 dic 2022 New Investments, Primo Digital

The round, led by Primo Digital, aims at developing Made in Italy Italian worldwide.

In the board Gianluca Dettori, general partner of the fund.

Milano, 14th of december 2022 – Italian Artisan (https://italian-artisan.com/), a digital marketplace that connects international brands and retailers to high-quality Italian artisan suppliers in the fashion, design and furniture sector, has closed a 1,300,000 Euro investment round. The round was underwritten by Primo Ventures, through the Primo Digital and Primo Digital Parallel Italia funds, together with a group of international business angels.

Italian Artisan developed a marketplace that allows brands, distributors and shopkeepers worldwide to design, create and market products designed and manufactured in Italian artisanal workshops. The company aims to make Made in Italy production decentralized, accessible, transparent and sustainable, expanding the market for high quality Italian craftsmanship. The platform represents an opportunity for international brands and retailers to generate new value by working simply and safely with the best Made in Italy artisans and operators.

Made in Italy in 2021 generated 67.5 billion in exports in the fashion sector alone (source: Confindustria Fashion Study Center) and the production chain is made up of tens of thousands of mini-companies, small producers and artisan companies. This fragmentation makes it difficult for anyone to collaborate with high quality Italian production.

The new resources will allow the startup to expand the community of Italian producers - which today has 700 artisans, expand the international customer base and accelerate the development of the platform, with the aim of simplifying the supply chain processes and improving the user experience. Part of the resources will also be invested in marketing, with a focus on high-potential geographic areas (North America and Europe) and in strengthening the commercial team.

The company was born thanks to the vision of David Clementoni, who, with deep family roots rooted in the craftsmanship of the Marche region, aims to promote the Italian craftsmanship globally, applying the algorithmic technology of matchmaking and the know-how acquired at the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Politecnico of Milan and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, for the development of the internationalization of Made in Italy.

“We are very satisfied with the closing of this seed round - declares David Clementoni, co-founder of Italian Artisan “Our mission is to promote the internationalization of Italian manufacturing excellence through the most modern digital technologies. The participation of Primo Digital will allow us to accelerate technological developments and consolidate best practices to bring Italian Artisan to be the reference point of Made in Italy in the world".

In 2020 Olga Iarussi, a professional with long experience as CEO and general manager in FMCG and Fashion multinationals, joins as co-founder and CEO of Italian Artisan, thus contributing to the growth of Italian Artisan in the last 18 months.

The team includes 20 young talents, 80% of whom are women, with an average age of 26, united by a passion for Made in Italy craftsmanship, as well as the network of manufacturing experts located in the various Italian districts, to support international brands and retailers in all stages of production.

Today Italian Artisan has more than 11,000 international brands on its platform and has commercial partnerships with over 700 Italian producers and artisans, to whom it has already supplied over 500 orders from 45 countries. In recent years, Italian Artisan has seen the growth of emerging brands that now have successful collections on the market (such as Daniela Uribe Design, KYLO The Label and PARLA), together with already structured brands.

The artisan businesses are concentrated in 54 districts of excellence and Italian Artisan's strategy is to directly supervise these districts, making the platform and services available to the territories designed to intercept the international demand for Made in Italy.

“Behind the Made in Italy brand lies an invaluable value of skills, experience and creativity, often the legacy of crafts handed down through the generations. Italian Artisan's vision of creating an AliBaba of Italian quality manufacturing is ambitious and convincing. There is a great demand for Italy all over the world that we want to satisfy, recovering value, margins and dignity for the Italian producers who participate in our marketplace" added Gianluca Dettori, partner of Primo Digital and president of Primo Ventures, who is now part of the Board of Directors of Italian Artisan.

Italian Artisan aims to make intermediation towards the world of high quality Italian manufacturing more equitable, starting from the fashion sector. Apply an inclusive and sustainable business model, respecting and enhancing the local production ecosystem and enabling simplified collaboration between the various operators in the value chain through digital. Thanks to a glocal approach, the company aims to aggregate demand, combine it with data and place it at the service of artisans.

The ADVANT Nctm law firm, with a team coordinated by the lawyer. Eleonora Sofia Parrocchetti and composed by the lawyer. Stefano Giordano, acted as legal advisor of the transaction for the benefit of the Fund and the company. The notarial aspects were handled by the Notary Mathias Bastrenta of the Todeschini & Bastrenta studio.

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Italian Artisan is the leading ecosystem in Made in Italy B2B production that simplifies the meeting between international brands and Made in Italy producers, so as to produce the collections in Italy in a transparent and sustainable way. Italian Artisan, which today has over 700 companies in its community, helps Italian micro, small and medium-sized manufacturing companies to get in touch with new international customers and build solid business relationships that last over time.

www.italian-artisan.com

For more information: melania.d@italian-artisan.com

Primo Ventures is an asset management company specialized in early stage technological venture capital in the digital and space sector. Primo Ventures currently manages the funds: Barcamper Ventures, Barcamper Ventures Lazio, in partnership with the Lazio Region, and Primo Digital in the digital sector and Primo Space Fund in the new space economy sector.

www.primo.vc
Per maggiori informazioni: francesca.boni@primo.vc

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