Egypt-based Acasia Angels invests in Greek startup Swaplanet

As a global angel investment group, Acasia Angels has joined the €485,000 pre-seed investment round in the Athens-based retail apparel swap platform Swaplanet. Other investors in the round included Genesis Ventures, Zeno Capital (Helidoni Foundation), Hellenic Business Angels Network, and others.

Launched in 2021, Swaplanet allows parents to swap, pass on and sell the clothes that their babies and children have outgrown, reducing the carbon footprint of households by eliminating textile waste and increasing access to good quality clothing. Children need a recurring and expensive supply of clothing, and there is no easy way to recover the amount of money spent on items that they immediately grow out of. Additionally, storing barely used clothes creates clutter and is environmentally unsustainable, while another person out there could be using the clothing items instead. The same extends to children’s books, toys, and equipment, all of which have short useful lives, and will be available to swap on the platform. Currently, Swaplanet operates solely in Greece.

Established by Egyptian Sherif Barakat and his cofounders Helena Stamou and Jimmy Nicolaides, Swaplanet aims to save 15 million kg of CO2, equivalent to 800,000 trees, and 2.6 billion litres of water, which amounts to about 240,000 households, in 2026 alone. “Our role starts from the moment a human is born, creating positive habits that will accompany them throughout their lives: sharing what is no longer needed with other humans and reducing their environmental footprint from day one,” CEO and Founder of Swaplanet Barakat said.

Today, Swaplanet received 100,000 pieces of clothing from 2,000 parents in Greece, of which 50% were accepted and a third were resold. Some 60% of customers have even made a second order. The newly-raised funding will go towards expanding Swaplanet’s reach across Greece, acquiring new customers and developing the platform. 

“Plastics are responsible for 6% of CO2 emissions, while textile is responsible for 10%. Textiles are also responsible for producing 20% of wastewater around the world,” Barakat explained. “We aim to build a network of environmentally-conscious citizens, and we are looking forward to leveraging Acasia Angels’ expertise on go-to-market strategy, financial and fundraising management, and market expansion throughout our journey.”

“Reused clothing is the fastest growing sub-segment in fashion, which is already a fast-growing industry,” Non-Executive Chairman of Acasia Group Hossam Allam said. “Every pair of jeans uses up to 8,000 litres of water in its production cycle. Hence, the environmental impact of Swaplanet is massive because of the amount of CO2 and water saved. Additionally, it serves those suffering from the global cost of living crisis, by providing high-quality clothing items in exchange for items households already own, but don’t necessarily need anymore.”

Swaplanet had previously raised €100,000 from Think Bigger Capital in May 2021.