- Swipe.bg, a Sofia-based company specializing in the buying and selling of used smartphones, secured €1.4M in support from Vitosha Venture Partners and NV3.
- The company reported revenue of just under €2.5M in 2023, marking a nearly fivefold increase from the previous year.
- With the new investment, the founders plan to hire new key team members and continue their plan for further market expansion.
Sofia-based company Swipe.bg, a marketplace for refurbished phones, managed to secure €1.4M support from the VC funds Vitosha Venture Partners, previously invested in the company, and NV3. For both VC funds, this is one of their last deals as their mandate from the Bulgarian Fund of Funds has ended at the end of 2023. The company reported just under €2.5M in revenue for 2023, a nearly fivefold increase compared to a year earlier.
Swipe.bg is the first Bulgarian platform for buying and selling second-hand mobile phones. It provides users with verified methods to sell their used smartphones. The company is committed to the principles of a circular economy, serving the needs of both individual customers and corporate clients.
Swipe.bg was established in 2021 by Mihail Dimitrov, following a career in the corporate world, the serial entrepreneurs Ognyan Popov, and Nikola Pavlov. Dimitrov holds the majority ownership with a 53.8% stake.
Previously, the company has participated in Endeavor’s Dare to Scale program in 2022 among 11 other companies, such as Pollenity, Sofia Electric Brewing, C4 Nexus, and others.
Currently, Swipe.bg plans to develop the Bulgarian market further, and expand abroad, initially targeting Greece and Romania. “Thanks to the new investment, we will be able to hire new team members in key positions for our future development. We plan to grow our location network. There is much more local growth ahead for us in Bulgaria, where we aim to become one of the leaders in smartphone sales”, shared Oggy Popov, a strategic partner in the company, who also participated in the round, contributing the highest investment.
Sofia Angels Ventures is also playing a role in the funding round, alongside a couple of business angels, Petr Baron and Denis Gorbunov from TBI Bank, Georgi Brashnarov from “Nemechek”, Presiyan Karakostov, serial entrepreneur and investor, Daneta Zheleva, CEO at the Industrial Holding Bulgaria PLC, and others. SeedBlink played a pivotal role in contributing to the fundraising for a portion of the round.