(CNN) -- It's grown from selling clothes to a handful of friends inside a small dorm room to a popular fashion website featuring more than 1,000 stylish items. Admittedly, it's been quite a journey for Serah Kanyua, the co-founder of Closet49, an online marketplace that links buyers of clothes and accessories to sellers across Kenya. Launched just over a year ago, the growing website features a mix of new and used fashion items -- from custom-made pieces by young designers and boutique stores to well-preserved clothes from women looking to de-clutter their closets. "We simply merged the idea to sell affordable fashion to people who just didn't want to pay too much," says Kanyua. "And also give people an opportunity to sell off clothes they don't want anymore in their closet but are still in good condition -- and you can be able to get extra cash," she adds.
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E-commerce platforms like Closet49 and Soko have proliferated in Kenya
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More and more mobile phone users are turning online to buy and sell goods
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Closet49 is an online marketplace linking buyers of clothes to sellers in the country
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Soko links artisans directly to online global consumers using a simple mobile phone
Using Kanyua's living room as their base, the two business partners called their shop @placeholder.
Back in Kanyua's home, the young entrepreneur says she hopes @placeholder's annual profits will make them a million Kenyan shillings in the next two to three years -- a goal of about $12,000 in profit a year.