A man in a white shirt looking at the camera with a rocky hill behind him. He is Rónán Ó’Dálaigh, CEO of Thriftify.
Thriftify CEO Rónán Ó’Dálaigh. Image: Thriftify

Charity retail platform Thriftify to create 20 jobs following €1.6m investment

9 Aug 2022

The online marketplace said it has grown around 300pc each year since launching in 2018 and is now investing in expansion across the UK.

Charity retail platform Thriftify is planning to grow its business further after receiving a €1.6m investment.

This funding boost was led by the very first HBAN Impact Syndicate and included participation from Themvar VC along with angel investors such as former River Island CEO Ben Lewis.

Thriftify plans to use the investment to expand its team by 20 over the next 12 months, with roles in the tech, e-commerce, sales and marketing sides of its business.

The Irish start-up currently has offices in Dublin and London and employs 30 people full-time across Ireland, the UK, Moldova, India, Pakistan and Spain.

Thriftify said the new roles will primarily be in sales and marketing as it plans to expand its online presence.

The former SiliconRepublic.com Start-up of the Week enables charity shops to sell online and upload items from their stores to reach e-commerce customers.

The fresh investment comes on the back of ongoing UK growth for Thriftify and major enhancements in its technology. It said its platform can now automatically value charity shop donations, list them on dozens of marketplaces online, and handle the entire end-to-end e-commerce journey.

The social enterprise said it has grown around 300pc each year since launching in 2018 and is now investing in continued expansion across the UK.

“As a team, we’re absolutely thrilled to have the resources we need to fundamentally change the fashion industry,” said Thriftify CEO Rónán Ó’Dálaigh.

“We’ve been bootstrapped and lean for a long time and while we’ll still stay true to that, we’re going to invest in some remarkable new hires and areas that we know are going to generate a major impact, so overall it’s definitely the most exciting period in our journey so far.”

Thriftify was founded after its founders noticed very few charity shops operated on the internet. The company said it now acts as an online retailer for 98pc of Ireland’s charity shops.

It aims to have all the registered charity retailers in Britain selling on its platform by the end of 2023.

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Leigh Mc Gowran
By Leigh Mc Gowran

Leigh Mc Gowran is a journalist with Silicon Republic since November 2021. He has previously worked as an environmental and breaking news journalist, and a local radio presenter. When he’s not writing articles and stressing about the climate emergency, he enjoys judging the latest film releases and perfecting his renowned cooking skills. He also has a love for video games, coffee and cats.

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