ASOS Launches Incubator for Minority-Owned Brands — Retail Bum

ASOS has launched an incubator in collaboration with the (Fashion) Minority Report (FMR) to support ethnic-minority-owned businesses.

The “ScaleUp” incubator program has been developed to reduce the barriers to entry in the fashion industry for minority-owned businesses and help them scale their operations.

It will offer two successful brands access to insight and guidance from leading industry experts, wholesale opportunities, including the launch of one collection available exclusively on ASOS, and one year of mentorship from business leaders. The two brands will also be able to pitch for up to £20,000 of funding each to support their growth.

Meanwhile, five other emerging brands will gain access to workshops, mentoring, and an opportunity to showcase their brands as part of the February 2024 scaleUP press and buyers showroom.

“As any brand founder knows, the path to success in the fashion industry can often feel challenging, but as someone who is an ethnic minority, the barriers are often greater to break through,” said Daniel Peters, founder of the (Fashion) Minority Report.

“Through our partnership with ASOS, we can’t wait to deliver a program that provides opportunities and the relevant building blocks for scalability to ethnic minority business owners.”

Applications for the program are open from May 31, 2023, to July 9, 2023. All U.K.-based ethnic minority founders that operate brands that have been in business for less than five years are welcome to apply here.

Photo credit: ASOS

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on June 6, 2023.