Observer Report Pakistan
Proud moment for Pakistani startup Bazaar, a Pakistan-based B2B eCommerce startup that had formed just eight months ago to digitize conventional retail in Pak, managed to raise $6.5 million in one of the province’s largest seed series. The round was co-led by Berlin-based Global Founders Capital which is making its first venture in Pakistan, and Pakistan-focused VC Indus Valley Capital that had also led firms pre-seed round in June last year.
According to MENAbytes data, it is the second-largest seed round ever raised by a startup in the Middle East, North Africa, and the largest in Pakistan. This takes Bazaar’s total raise to date to $7.8 million, making it one of the best-funded startups of the country.
In addition to the lead investors, Bazaar also brought together a diverse mix of leading regional and global institutional and angel investors. Early-stage VC S7V, Singapore-based Wavemaker Partners, Saudi’s Derayah Venture Capital, and US-based Next Billion Ventures participated in the round. The angels that joined the cap table include current and former leaders of Careem, a partner at DST Global (one of the leading late-stage tech investors), and founders of other B2B startups including Cairo-based Maxab, Ula in Indonesia, and Africa’s Sokowatch.
Pakistan’s Bazaar, a B2B market place, raises USD 6.5 million in the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan region’s second largest ever seed round. Good news for the Pakistan tech ecosystem! 🇵🇰https://t.co/wWIIeVybBY
— Taimur Malik (@taimur_malik) January 19, 2021
Founded by Hamza Jawaid and Saad Jangda, the company’s mobile-based e-commerce marketplace allows individuals managing neighbourhood household grocery stores (commanly known as kiryana stores) to obtain the list for their stores from manufacturers, wholesalers, and suppliers. The app stars over 500 SKUs of branded and unbranded products, providing free next-day delivery.
“On one end of the marketplace, kiryana owners benefit from Bazaar app’s convenient ordering, reliable delivery and competitive prices. Suppliers, on the other end, through Bazaar get a direct-to-retail channel and are provided actionable insights on purchase patterns and trends,” said the startup explaining its value proposition, in a statement.
Tito Costa, Partner at Global Founders Capital, said, “We are excited to back an extraordinary team in their journey to help millions of small shops in Pakistan digitize their retail business”.
When the two co-founders had ignited Bazaar, they had set an objective of assisting 800 retailers in Karachi by the end of 2020 but they closed the year with over 10,000 retailers, beating their initial targets both in terms of the number of users served through the platform and GMV by over 10x.
Aatif Awan, the Managing Partner at Indus Valley Capital, said, “When we invested in Bazaar in May, they set determined targets for 2020. They went on to crush those goals by 10x. Indus Valley Capital is thrilled to double down on Bazaar and strengthen our partnership to revolutionize the $150B retail industry in Pakistan.”
– News sourced by menabytes
