During the pandemic, almost all retailers in Asia established an e-commerce presence and adopted digital payments. But one thing that didn’t change was sourcing, say the founders of cross-border marketplace Markato. Retailers still need to travel to overseas trade shows, cold e-mail new brands and fulfill orders by filling out forms and purchase orders. Markato wants to change that with a cross-border marketplace focused on independent brands that also lets them manage their Asia wholesale operations in one place. The startup is launching in Hong Kong today with $5 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed, marking the venture firm’s first investment in Hong Kong.
Markato was founded this year by Brian …
