Japan-based handmade product marketplace Creema has raised ¥1.1bn ($10m) from investors including subsidiaries of telecommunications firm KDDI, postal service Japan Post, internet company Mixi and real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan.
KDDI Open Innovation Fund, Japan Post Capital, I Mercury Capital and 31 Ventures joined SMBC Venture Partners and SBI Investment – the venture capital arms of financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and SBI – as well as venture capital firm Global Brain and angel investor Mamoru Nanamura.
Founded in 2010, Creema operates a customer-to-customer platform catering to 150,000 artisans who collectively sell more than 7 million handcrafted items.
The company will use the capital raised to expand its services further in Asian markets including Taiwan and Hong Kong in addition to strengthening its human resources.
Creema received $10m from KDDI Open Innovation Fund, SMBC Venture Partners and Global Brain in a round led by VC firm Globis Capital Partners in May 2016, following $1m from KDDI Open Innovation Fund a year earlier.
