WiL leads $26m round for Japan cross-border e-commerce site

Existing investors including Ventech China, Taoyun Beijing Investment Fund, and Itochu Corporation, one of Japan's biggest conglomerates, also participated in the round, according to a Chinese media report linked to the start-up's website.

Inagora, which is called Wandou Gongzhu in Chinese, was founded by Yongbiao Weng in August 2014. Weng previously founded JWord, a leading Japanese online search company, in partnership with Intochu and another Japan corporation. The start-up was then acquired by Yahoo Japan and GMO. After that, Weng cooperated with Lei Jun, the founder of Chinese smart phone company Xiaomi, to set up Kingsoft Japan.

Inagora targets selling Japanese products to Chinese middle class, especially women. By building a local team in Tokyo and leveraging the founder's network in Japan, the company has built partnerships with Japanese brands and general merchandizers in order to keep its purchasing prices low. It has also hired local opinion leaders who provide updated contents about Japanese lifestyles. Currently, there are more than 10,000 stock keeping units available on the app, covering major categories such as cosmetics, supplements and food.

The firm raised $20 million across two tranches of funding in February and May, with participation from Ventech China, ZhenFund and IDG Capital Partners. The latest funding will be used to add more Japanese suppliers on its platform.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• North Asia
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• Early-stage
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• China
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• TMT