ISLAMABAD: Bazaar, a Pakistani online marketplace that connects retailers directly to wholesalers and manufacturers, has raised a $6.5 million seed round, the second largest ever in the Middle East and North Africa region and the largest in Pakistan, one of the venture capital firms that invested in the project said on Tuesday.
Last year, Bazaar raised $1.3 million in Pakistan’s largest ever pre-seed round. Co-founded by Saad Jangda and Hamza Jawaid in April 2020, Bazaar started a closed pilot in Karachi during extreme lockdown conditions because of the coronavirus pandemic when shorter working hours created major supply chain problems for retailers.
“Congrats to @joinbazaar on raising a $6.5M seed round, the second largest ever in MENA and largest in Pakistan, co-led by @Global_Founders founder and @indusvalleycap,” Aatif Awan, the founder of Indus Valley Capital, said on Twitter. “Couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with them as they revolutionize the $150B retail industry in Pakistan.”
1/ Congrats to @joinbazaar on raising a $6.5M seed round, the second largest ever in MENA and largest in Pakistan, co-led by @Global_Founders founder and @indusvalleycap
— Aatif Awan (@aatif_awan) January 19, 2021
“Magic happens when smart ambitious founders take on huge markets. In just 8 months, Bazaar has built an incredible team and product, serving more than 10 thousand retailers every month.”
Awan, former VP of growth at LinkedIn, said when his firm first invested in Bazaar in May last year, they set ambitious targets for 2020. “They went on to crush those goals by 10x!” he added.
He said it was exciting that so many investors had invested in Pakistan for the first time through the Bazaar deal, including early-stage VC S7V, Singapore-based Wavemaker Partners, Saudi Arabia’s Derayah Ventures and US-based NextBillion Ventures.
5/ Several top angels also participated including 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
— Aatif Awan (@aatif_awan) January 19, 2021
“Bringing the fragmented B2B retail market online is one of the biggest startup opportunities in Pakistan. I have tracked it for over a year and have been waiting to back the right team to go after it,” Awan said in an interview last year. “Bazaar’s founding team is phenomenal on all fronts – product, strategy and execution. Indus Valley Capital is really excited to partner with them.”
