Investment rains down on South African e-commerce site Zando

South African company Zando is soaking up an investment of €20 million for its fashion e-commerce site.

Zando launched in January of 2012 as a footwear merchant, much along the lines of Zappos. It offers free shipping and free returns, and has now expanded the inventory to include clothing, accessories, beauty projects, and sporting goods. There are over 400 brands and 10,000 products available on the site, and Zando has quickly risen to the top of the list of online retailers sites in South Africa.

This round was led by Summit Partners in response to Zando’s quick growth, as well as high forecasts for internet penetration in South Africa in 2013. J.P. Morgan has also invested.

“We are excited to be joined by an investor that shares our vision and belief in the huge potential for the South African market,” said Manuel Koser, co-founder of Zando. “With the ubiquitous convergence of technologies, feature phones, smartphones, tablets and desktops with dedicated connectivity, internet accessibility is maturing.”

Zando is based in Cape Town and has 200 employees.