Move over, Mark Cuban. Meghan Markle has entered the shark tank. Markle has acquired a minority stake in Cesta Collective, a luxury handbag brand specializing in woven basket totes, she confirmed during a recent interview with The New York Times .
The bags themselves are handcrafted by women in Rwanda and finished in Italy. She disclosed that she first wore one of Cesta’s bags on a date night out with Prince Harry , Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cameron Diaz back in 2023 after discovering the company online. “I spend a lot of time just Googling, looking for brands,” Markle told the newspaper.
“When people are online looking for things or reading things, I’m trying to find great new designers, especially in different territories.” Of course, after Markle was spotted with the tote, founders Erin Ryder and Courtney Weinblatt Fasciano saw sales skyrocket. According to Markle, what drew her to invest her money in Cesta was the mission-based brand’s commitment to sustainability and ability to support female artisans by offering fair-wage opportunities.
“Courtney and Erin have a really incredible and strategic business,” Markle told People . “The quality of a brand’s products, the supply chain, ethical standards, and practices—these are all things that I consider before making an investment. With Cesta, I really started to understand how many women’s lives were being impacted and uplift through their work.
That was incredibly important to me.” With Markle’s back.