Company: Wakuda
Website: https://www.wakuda.co.uk/
Business: An online marketplace which allows you to discover and shop with UK black-owned brands.
About Nathaniel, Albert and Wakuda
Wakuda is an online marketplace which allows you to discover and shop with over 300 amazing UK black-owned brands. They aim to empower these businesses whilst enabling wider society to create positive impact through their journey of discovery and their purchasing power.
As a platform transforming access to black-owned businesses, Wakuda provides anyone and everyone the opportunity to access amazing black-owned brands. Over 60% of their 2,000+ products are organic. You can discover anything from skincare, haircare, home decor, art, jewellery, greeting cards and more.
Both Nathaniel and Albert have been serial entrepreneurs for over 10 years. The lack of representation of the black community in the business space frustrated them and led to many discussions.
In the wake of George Floyd, they noticed a global shift in awareness of the disparities faced by the black community. Immediately Nathaniel and Albert started thinking about how they could use this to create meaningful impact for our community in a space they were familiar with – business. Wakuda was launched in August 2020.
Their vision is to bring black-owned businesses to the mainstream audience. They aim to enrich society by making buying from black-owned brands a lifestyle rather than a short-lived trend. Alongside this they aim to narrow the large income gap that exists between black entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs of other ethnicities.
Wakuda needed to ensure all people were aware that, although it’s black-owned brands, it’s for everyone. Everyone has the opportunity to create impact with their spending and the opportunity to discover unique products and brands that traditionally have been not so easy to access. Adjusting their messaging was key and over 70% of their customers identify as white.
Nathaniel and Albert are not “tech” founders so navigating the technical elements of building a multi-vendor marketplace was challenging. They had to do a massive amount of research and work with various freelancers to build out the platform. In the future, Nathaniel and Albert want to continue building brand awareness through strategic partnerships and collaborations.
Alongside this they aim to continue to rapidly grow the number of brands and customers on our platform. They are working with SAP consultants that will help them with customer segmentation and building out a UI/UX roadmap.
