Technology is transforming lives. For a textile-producing country like Pakistan, the need of technological solutions that could connect and empower designers and textile mills is one of those things that just needed to be there.
This is exactly what Umainah Mendhro was thinking when she came up with Vida, an e-commerce platform that connects textile manufacturers and designers to create products such as scarves, handbags, clothing, etc. People who have a flair for design and fashion will now be able to send their designs to a textile manufacturer online, who would then in turn produce a high quality fabric using the same designs by help of a printing process..
Such a collaborative process would result in a win-win situation for both the parties, since aspiring fashion designers would be able to easily find a textile manufacturer for their wares with no hassle. An idea like this has the potential to transform the textile industry in Pakistan.
Profile of Umainah Mendhro
Umaina Mendhro always had an eye for design, when growing up in a small village in Pakistan. She went on to build her career in Microsoft as well as the design firm West, from where she picked up invaluable lessons on how tech would prove to be instrumental in realizing her dreams.
It got her thinking about how great it would be if she decided to turn the design industry on its head, with the help of today’s technology.
Her idea? Letting fashion designers send digital designs on a secure e-commerce platform to textile manufacturers, who can then print it out on any clothing article they like. All materials would be printed on high quality fabrics, making the idea more attractive for fashion designers who want to try their hand and implement their visions at scale later on.
She realized her vision with Vida, and is now partnering up with textile manufacturers all over the world, so that Vida caters to designers and manufacturers globally.
Vida’s Future Prospects
In Pakistan, Vida has partnered with one Pakistani textile manufacturer to date, with the prerequisite high quality printing equipment in place. More textile manufacturers here will be upgrading their facilities with high-tech printing presses so that they can take advantage of Vida’s online platform as well.
On the global scale, Vida is winning laurels for its innovation and entrepreneurial potential, with up to $1.3 million raised from Google Ventures, Dave Morin’s Slow Ventures, Universal Music Group, Nanon and Don Mattrick’s Beehive Holdings, The Valley Fund, and Jesse Draper.
Vida has raised $1.3 million from Google Ventures and other investors
Vida has around 200 designers already, with about 75 items developed in 5 different product categories. All this at launch! And Vida is disrupting the traditional textile manufacturing process, with designs from its designers being processed in a matter of days.
Many famous designers like Cigdem Keskin from Turkey and Emma Lundgren from Sweden have signed up for Vida. They love how Vida is pioneering the concept of ‘fast design.’ In fact, it takes only 45 seconds to print out a scarf on high quality fabrics with the equipment that Vida wants manufacturers to install.
What is Vida’s Business Model and What Does it Offer the Consumers?
Vida isn’t just about the designers and manufacturers only. Many of the fashion products developed on the platform can be purchased by online consumers too, with price ranging from $40 to $95 depending on the clothing and brand name.
As for Vida’s business model, it works this way – designers don’t need to pay anything, receiving 10% from the sales they make, with Vida taking care of the 90% that covers costs related to manufacturing, logistics, marketing, order fulfillment and more.
UImainah Mendhro has not only helped provide local manufacturers in Pakistan the means to enhance their business, but she has in the process transformed the whole global textile industry with Vida. She has given designers with limited means a direction to establish a name for themselves, whilst taking care of the issues one generally faces when partnering with a textile manufacturer.
Here’s to hoping she takes the e-commerce platform she founded to stratospheric heights.
via GV
Good job Ms. Mendhro! Way to go :) It is very nice to see Pakistani women are also coming forward to utilize IT.
Yall are idiots. Everything that involves a computer is not IT. Computerized wheel alignment is IT? wtf. And the miss has nothing to do with Pakistan. She spent 5-10 minutes in Rural Sindh and started claiming ‘difficult’ childhood – a fashion in the West. With so much success and quality education, her claims are laughable. btw, with so many contacts and time spent in the big world, she got such a miniscule investment. Im not sure whether I will be thumping my chest about that. I am sure she isnt either. I may be getting her wrong. Its clueless media/blogger who try to paint her an inspirational and influential success story.