Irish jeweller Chupi Sweetman has been chosen as The Irish Times Business Person of the Month for February, an award run in association with Bank of Ireland.
Chupi, the heirloom jewellery company she founded 10 years ago, announced during the month that it had secured €3.75 million in new equity and debt funding to fuel its ambitious growth plans for Ireland and Britain.
The deal will see investment funds BVP and Abbey International Finance take equity stakes in the business, with Permanent TSB’s business banking division providing term debt to support Chupi’s long-term growth strategy.
Chupi will continue to be majority controlled by Ms Sweetman, her husband Brian Durney and members of the company’s leadership team.
The group, which makes all of its products in Ireland with recycled, post-industrial gold, said the funds would be used to expand Chupi’s retail operation as well as its digital offering. This includes augmented and virtual reality systems used to assist customers with choice and sizing. It currently exports to 69 countries.
Chupi, which used 55,000 diamonds in its products last year, announced that it had removed Russian diamonds from its supply chain in response to the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
