Egyptian sportswear startup Sigma Fit raises investment for expansion

Cairo-based sportswear startup Sigma Fit has raised an investment from Kuwaiti investors an Egyptian investment firm Innlife investments. The size of investment was not disclosed.

Founded in 2017 by Omar El Metwally, Islam Rashwan, Nabil Khalifa, Sigma Fit had initially started with sportswear produced using hydrophobic technology but has gradually expanded its scope to include more technologies and introduced medical protective suits and face masks after the start of pandemic.

The use of hydrophobic technology allows Sigma Fit to produce clothes that can be used without washing for up to three weeks. The fabric manufactured and used by Sigma Fit for its clothes is stain and water-resistant, “Our products have been thoroughly tested. They’ve been tested by people and all of them have witnessed that our t-shirts remain odor-free and stain-free for up to three weeks before washing them,” notes its website.

It currently sells t-shirts, jackets, tracksuits, pants, and shorts for both men and women. The t-shirts are priced between $15 to $20 – which is what the customers normally pay for buying a t-shirt from any local brand in Egypt. Most of its Sigma Fit’s sales come from its website but the techwear startup also makes money by selling products through different offline channels – which also include sales to businesses and government.

During the first wave of the pandemic, Sigma Fit has manufactured and delivered over 50,000 medical protective suits to different hospitals in Egypt. The suits, Omar, in a recent interview, said have “replaced the disposable ones which are more expensive, less protective and environmentally unfriendly.”

They can retain protection against the virus for up to 30 washes. Sigma Fit has also sold over 200,000 face masks which the startup claims are cheap, stylish, and comfortable.

“[They are] liquid-repellent, and the fabric density is international-grade. On the inside, they’re made from a sports polycotton that can absorb all your sweat,” Omar had started in an interview earlier this year.

Sigma Fit now wants to use the latest money to invest further in fabrics technology, antiviral clothing, embedded sensors clothing, and augmented reality shopping, “We will be sponsoring different researches to improve clothing. With our investment in these technologies, we want to be prepared for future pandemics as it can assist in the control of the spread of any virus in the future,” said Omar, speaking to MENAbytes.