The Giving Movement raises US$15 million Series-A round to fuel GCC growth and international expansion

The Giving Movement, a sustainable fashion Direct-To-Consumer (D2C) e-commerce player in the GCC, has announced the closing of its US$15 million SeriesA funding round to further fuel its explosive growth. The round was led by Knuru Capital with participation of other investors across the EMEA and Asian region.

The company was founded in the UAE in early-2020 by Dominic Nowell-Barnes, with angel investment from UAE entrepreneurs Lucy & Gaurav Sinha, and over the subsequent two years has seen explosive growth, as the apparel sector saw accelerated demand in the athleisure and lounge wear segments after Covid. The company’s core advantage is the combination of a “give-back” brand ethos, an authentic sustainable supply-chain and a 100% UAE manufacturing focus, which has seen it capture significant share in the GCC apparel sector to become the leading fashion brand to have emerged from the UAE in recent years. The fashion market in the UAE alone is estimated to be a $50bn addressable market and athleisure and lounge wear is estimated to become a $517bn market category globally by 2025.

The Giving Movement has grown in a short period of time and is generally regarded as a brand that is purpose-built for Generation-Z lifestyle values.

Dominic Nowell-Barnes, Founder & Chairman at The Giving Movement said, “We are proud to be partnering with such value-add investors and to have built a brand in over two years on such an authentic consumer promise. Even more so, to have done this from our home in the UAE.  As we expand into new categories and into new markets, quality capital will allow us to remain true to our purpose and to take our ethos global, while continuing to serve our loyalists and community stakeholders”.

Alain Dib, co-founder and CEO at Knuru Capital commented, “We are most excited to the part of the next phase of this great journey. The Giving Movement represents the best of what we see as this next, permanent wave in fashion. Consumers care about purpose, about circularity and about the environmental impact of what they wear. Dominic and his team combine a very strong business performance with a deeply-rooted stance on community and human values in equal measure”.

The funding round of US$15 million will be used for further category growth such as children’s and the recently-announced baby wear line and to expand into new markets. The company has already expanded into formal wear in 2022 and recently partnered with the Museum of the Future at its February launch. The funding round is oversubscribed and will be fully closed over the next few weeks with other investors participating in this round.