Islamabad: Pakistan startup PostEx, a provider of courier and financing to e-commerce companies, completed one of the country’s largest early-stage funding to help with its expansion plans, Bloomberg reported this week.
The Lahore-based startup raised $8.6 million through multiple tranches in its seed funding, according to its founder Muhammad Omer Khan. The latest tranche was led by Global Founders Capital, and also included first-time investments by FJ Labs and RTP Global in Pakistan.
The startup scene in the world’s fifth-largest nation is having a breakout year. Over $300 million has flowed into Pakistan’s nascent technology sector in 2021, more than in the previous six years combined.
Khan moved back to Pakistan from Dubai to start the venture after discovering more than 90 percent of the country’s online shopping was done with post-delivery cash payments rather than electronic transactions, resulting in the funds of businesses being held up for weeks, Bloomberg said.
PostEx, which began in April, helps e-commerce businesses solve working capital problems by giving them cash before making deliveries and providing them finance to run their businesses.
“The space has been underserved by traditional financial providers. Banks would not loan to e-commerce platforms because they don’t have anything to put as a collateral,” Khan said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We know their business. We understand that they’re growing very fast. So why not just use that as a collateral?”
The company will use the funds to expand into 15 to 20 more cities in Pakistan, increase its workforce and launch more fintech products, he said. Other investors included MSA Capital, VentureSouq, Alma Capital and Zayn Capital.
Pakistan’s e-commerce industry has lured the most investment in the recent funding rush. The majority of the population still hasn’t switched to online shopping, providing room for the sector to grow and transactions to reach $10 billion before 2025 from about $6 billion now, Khan estimates.
The held-up cash “was slowing growth down for e-commerce companies,” Khan told Bloomberg. “We’re trying to build a solution and help them grow.”
Pakistani startup PostEx completes one of the country’s largest early-stage funding
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Pakistani startup PostEx completes one of the country’s largest early-stage funding
- Provider of courier and financing to e-commerce companies raised $8.6 million through multiple tranches in seed funding
- Over $300 million has flowed into Pakistan’s nascent technology sector in 2021, more than in previous six years combined
Death toll in Pakistan wedding suicide blast rises to six
- Attack targeted members of local peace committee in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan
- Peace committees are community-based groups that report militant activity to security forces
PESHAWAR: The death toll from a suicide bombing at a wedding ceremony in northwestern Pakistan rose to six, police said on Saturday, after funeral prayers were held for those killed in the attack a day earlier.
The bomber detonated explosives during a wedding gathering in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, injuring more than a dozen, some of them critically.
“The death toll has surged to six,” said Nawab Khan, Superintendent of Police for Saddar Dera Ismail Khan. “Police have completed the formalities and registered the case against unidentified attackers.”
“It was a suicide attack and the Counter Terrorism Department will further investigate the case,” he continued, adding that security had been stepped up across the district to prevent further incidents.
No militant group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
Khan cautioned against speculation, citing ongoing militancy in the area, and said the investigation was being treated with “utmost seriousness.”
The explosion targeted the home of a member of a local peace committee, which is part of community-based groups that cooperate with security forces and whose members have frequently been targeted by militants in the past.
Some media reports also cited a death toll of seven, quoting police authorities.
Emergency officials said several of the wounded were taken to hospital soon after the blast.
Militant attacks have intensified in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the Taliban returned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021, with Islamabad accusing Afghan authorities of “facilitating” cross-border assaults, a charge Kabul denies.
