Pakistan – Tech in Asia

The round was headed by Shorooq Partners with participation from Waad Investment in Saudi Arabia.

https://www.techinasia.com/news/pakistans-workspace-platform-raises-2m-preseries

Qist Bazaar has disbursed over 55,000 loans totaling around $12 million since its launch.

https://www.techinasia.com/news/pakistans-bnpl-startup-secures-32-million-series

After the funding bonanza of 2021 dried up, the country’s startup ecosystem contracted in various ways, but that may not be entirely a bad thing.

https://www.techinasia.com/pakistans-startup-funding-shortage-sorting-wheat-chaff

Tech in Asia could not verify some key facts about JTA, including its CEO Salemizadeh’s claim of having an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

https://www.techinasia.com/jta-investrees-lead-investor-231m-funding

In a memo seen by Reuters, acting CEO James Dong said the Pakistani ecommerce company's cost structure "continues to fall short" of financial targets.

https://www.techinasia.com/daraz-lays-staff-big-longterm-growth

The tie-up with NayaPay will involve deploying QR codes compatible with both Raast, Pakistan's payment system, and Alipay+ payment partners.

https://www.techinasia.com/alipay-extends-sea-reach-pakistan-partnership

The startup, which aims to be profitable by FYE 2026, offers virtual access to healthcare experts in over 350 cities across the country.

https://www.techinasia.com/sgbased-amaanah-circle-leads-27m-pakistani-healthtech-startup

In 50 Words: It will support startups that seek a US$2 million to US$3 million round and have secured most of their funding from other sources.

https://www.techinasia.com/news/pakistan-launch-10m-venture-capital-fund-startups

William Bao Bean, SOSV’s managing director, says the firm has now invested a total of US$5 million in 21 Pakistani startups.

https://www.techinasia.com/news/50-words-sosv-invests-5-pakistani-startups

The Singapore-headquartered fintech firm has partnered with over a dozen colleges in Pakistan that have around 200,000 students in total.

https://www.techinasia.com/edufi-raises-61m-boost-aipowered-student-lending-platform

Atyab Tahir was a former country head for Mastercard in Pakistan.

https://www.techinasia.com/sg-consortium-new-ceo-pakistani-digibank

Trukkr aims to offer financially inclusive products to Pakistan's logistics sector via its platform.

https://www.techinasia.com/pakistanbased-fintech-company-bags-64m-serve-logistics-sector

Swag Kicks targets young Pakistanis who want to dress fashionably but do not have access to or cannot afford global brands. 

https://www.techinasia.com/pakistanbased-recommerce-firm-bags-12m-funding

Daraz, which was fully acquired by the Chinese tech titan in 2018, is expected to lay off around 330 jobs.

https://www.techinasia.com/alibaba-backed-pakistani-ecommerce-firm-slashes-11-headcount

E& Enterprise also has an option to invest another US$60 million within 18 months of the deal’s completion.

https://www.techinasia.com/korean-cloud-service-provider-bags-60m-emirates-unit

With 500 Global’s support, JS Group will help local startups access early-stage financing.

https://www.techinasia.com/500-global-ties-pakistani-conglomerate-js-group

The Google for Startups Accelerator program will accept firms operating in industries such as ecommerce, finance, healthcare, agriculture, and logistics.

https://www.techinasia.com/google-select-15-sea-pakistan-firms-accelerator

DealCart allows customers to make purchases in groups to unlock discounted prices.

https://www.techinasia.com/dealcart-raises-45m-preseed-money

Pakistan-based Dbank is seeking regulatory approval for its digital bank based on Islamic values.

https://www.techinasia.com/sequoia-co-leads-17-6m-seed-dbank

Airlift will provide employees with salaries for July and August as well as set up a platform for job placement.

https://www.techinasia.com/pakistans-airlift-winds-failed-fundraiser

Since early last year, 24Seven has been transforming mom and pop stores into resellers and providing them with digital solutions.

https://www.techinasia.com/pakistani-retail-startup-24seven-scores-6m-preseries

To date, Rider has delivered over 3 million parcels across 60 cities in Pakistan.

https://www.techinasia.com/rider-lands-31m-ycombinator

In The Checkout this week, we dig further into the job cuts at Shopee and profile a rising star in Indonesia’s social ecommerce scene.

https://www.techinasia.com/shopee-layoffs-signal-tough-challenges

The company, which started out as a direct-to-consumer grocery store, serves the country's kiranas or mom and pop shops.

https://www.techinasia.com/pakistani-24seven-betatron

Pakistan-based MedznMore said the round marks the largest investment in the country's healthtech sector.

https://www.techinasia.com/medznmore-pre-series-a-funding

Betatron Venture Group will invest in startups from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Philippines.

https://www.techinasia.com/exclusive-hk-vc-firm-hits-close-15m-fund-b2b-firms-asia

Pakistan-based Markaz currently offers more than 10,000 products to be sold by its resellers.

https://www.techinasia.com/markaz-seed-funding

Zaraye helps buyers of raw materials connect with suppliers who furnish their quotes in real time, making the procurement process faster.

https://www.techinasia.com/zaraye-tiger-global-backs-21m-pakistani-b2b-startup

Qureos helps users learn in-demand skills via cohort-based lessons from industry experts who work at firms like Google, PayPal, and Amazon.

https://www.techinasia.com/dubai-edtech-firm-nets-3m-preseed-money

In The Top Up this week, we look at the fintech opportunity in Pakistan following a breakout year of VC funding, and the hiccup in Malaysia’s digital banking race.

https://www.techinasia.com/fintech-opportunity-pakistans-breakout-funding-year

Pakistani startups are attracting more international VC funding than ever before. But will that momentum continue?

https://www.techinasia.com/fintech-bright-spot-pakistans-breakout-year

Colabs started as a co-working platform but has evolved to offer additional services and tools to entrepreneurs and freelancers.

https://www.techinasia.com/fatima-gobi-ventures-backs-3m-seed-pakistan-coworking-firm-colabs

We find out which investors have backed the most AI startups in Southeast Asia and look at what fresh funding will do for this Pakistani B2B firm.

https://www.techinasia.com/southeast-asias-prolific-ai-investors

Jugnu’s ecommerce platform connects suppliers and manufacturers with retail stores and SMEs.

https://www.techinasia.com/pakistani-b2b-ecommerce-firm-raises-22m-series-money

Bazaar provides procurement, fulfillment, operating software, digital lending, and supply chain products to merchants and suppliers in Pakistan.

https://www.techinasia.com/tiger-global-backs-pakistan-ecommerce-startups-bazaar-70m

NayaPay aims to serve 5 million customers across Pakistan.

https://www.techinasia.com/pakistani-ewallet-raises-13m-seed-funding