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Nigerian fashion e-commerce startup Fashpa has been named as one of the 11 startups that will take part in the first Lisbon-based Dream Assembly fashion accelerator, which provides startups with mentorship, training and EUR30,000 (US$35,000) in funding.

The Dream Assembly programme, which also includes startups from Canada, France, Hong Kong, Portugal, Turkey, the United Kingdom (US) and the United States (US), is run by Farfetch, a leading global technology platform for the luxury fashion industry.

It was launched in April to provide mentorship, knowledge, networking opportunities and early-stage funding – EUR30,000 (US$35,000) – to startups, with Nigeria’s Fashpa the only African company to secure a spot.

Fashpa is a global marketplace for African fashion and design, which connects consumers to merchandise from independent brands and boutiques through a single online storefront. The platform offers its sellers end-to-end technology to power e-commerce, a digital storefront, supply chain management and market access to clients from all over the world.

The startup is already in Lisbon to take part in the 12-week programme, which will include a series of workshops, one-to-one sessions with Farfetch senior leaders, and mentorship meetings covering topics including e-commerce, marketing, technology, fashion, logistics and operations.

Dream Assembly will also offer networking opportunities for the participating startups, connecting them to relevant contacts in the fashion industry. Global luxury brand Burberry will be contributing with knowledge and resources, while the 500 Startups accelerator will be hosting a one-week growth bootcamp in San Francisco.

The programme also includes a demo day in London, where companies will have the chance to pitch their projects to a selected pool of external investors for follow-on funding.

“We were delighted by the response from so many incredible companies. The companies we have selected for the first Dream Assembly cohort all have great potential to present innovative solutions and are capable of shaping the future of commerce,” said Stephanie Phair, chief strategy officer of Farfetch.

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