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DUBAI: Businesswoman Marie-Hélène Stavelot has turned a teenage hobby into a sustainable fashion tech business in Dubai.
Stavelot is the founder and CEO of Reluxable, an online aggregator of pre-owned luxury goods from around the web.
Launched in October, the site sells everything from Hermès bags to Audemar Piaget watches to Manolo Blahnik shoes.
It has authorized second-hand online retailers from around the world, such as The Luxury Closet in the Middle East and North Africa, Paris-based Collector Square and What Goes Around Comes Around from New York.
In addition to identifying gaps in the luxury market, Stavelot’s startup has sustainability at its core.
She said: “Often, environmentally conscious consumers go to second-hand stores and dig out their treasures.
“The idea for this business came to me during the pandemic when I had to spend time searching multiple sites or going to 10 different stores looking for a specific item. With Reluxable, you can search for a single item across multiple sites at once items to find exactly what you need.”
Shoppers connect with renowned online stores to browse fashion, clothing, shoes and bags for men and women.
Stavelot added: “In Belgium, where I grew up, I started buying and selling my luxury second-hand items when I was 17.
“Then I went through a phase where I enjoyed fast fashion like everyone else because it was low cost and readily available. Now, I invest in key components that last.”
The Belgian-born entrepreneur, who also has family from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, worked in banking and a fintech company in Dubai before starting her business.
Stavelot leads an all-female team that includes her older sister, Olivia Atembina, who serves as chief operating officer. She raised money for the business from family and friends and is currently pitching $1 million to investors to expand the team and add a shopping cart to the website to help consumers buy on the platform she can access.
One example of many women-led startups is the US-based women-focused dating app Bumble, led by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, which launched in February 2014 as a Listed on Nasdaq with an $8 billion valuation.
But Stavelot realized that attracting funding would not be easy.
According to MAGNiTT, a regional entrepreneurship data platform, only 2% of startups funded between 2014 and 2020 were led by women in the MENA region.
Research from GITEX, the Dubai technology conference this year, also revealed that more than 85% of global venture capital goes to start-ups founded or led by men.
“I knew I had a sound business model, but it was difficult to get funding,” she said. “I want people like me who are struggling in a male-dominated market to be supported. It’s not easy, but I’m going to stick with it.”
Her venture comes at a time of push to improve business sustainability across the Bay Area.
In October, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a Middle East Green Initiative aimed at raising a 39 billion riyal ($10.4 billion) investment fund to support clean energy projects as part of an effort to reduce regional carbon emissions a part of.
The UAE will also host the global climate summit COP28 in 2023.
The steps are in place for online startups like Reluxable to make their mark—one click at a time.
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