ISLAMABAD: DealCart, a Pakistani e-commerce startup focused on transforming the way consumers access essential goods, has successfully raised $3 million in a funding round led by leading Middle East investment fund, Shorooq Partners, the startup said on Friday.
DealCart aims to provide affordable daily essential products to underserved communities in Pakistan through a gamified and interactive platform. The startup helps unlock more value by enabling users to “buy together and save together,” sourcing products directly from manufacturers and collaborating with locally manufactured brands.
Founded in 2017, Shorooq Partners is a leading alternative investment manager across the Middle East and North Africa region, with its venture capital and private credit funds investing in innovative technology companies. The firm has built deep sectoral expertise in fintech, platforms, software, gaming, and Web3.0, and has backed market-leading disruptors.
The funding round also saw participation from Sturgeon Capital, 500 Global, Evolution VC, Rayn Capital and Khyber Venture Partners, and the capital infusion will help DealCart expand its reach and provide affordable essential goods to low- and middle-income consumers across Pakistan, according to the e-commerce startup.
“This investment from Shorooq Partners is a testament to the potential of DealCart to revolutionize the way Pakistani consumers shop for essentials,” DealCart founders Haider Raza and Ammar Naveed said in a statement. “Our goal is to make everyday necessities more affordable and accessible, and this funding will help us get closer to that vision.”
Pakistan’s has for months been facing high inflation, which soared past 30 percent in 2023, putting significant financial strain on a majority of households.
DealCart aims to ease this financial burden by sourcing products directly from manufacturers and targets consumers who spend about 50 to 60 percent of their income on groceries and essentials, helping them save more and invest in a better future. The company also targets a digitally sophisticated younger population that prefers online retail spaces, according to the statement.
Despite rapid e-commerce growth in neighboring India, Pakistan’s e-commerce sector has lagged and to boost digital transactions and stimulate e-commerce, the State Bank of Pakistan introduced RAAST, an online instant payment platform, that has positioned DealCart to address market gaps.
“DealCart has identified a market gap and is developing a distinctive approach to social commerce and providing affordable essentials to most consumers, an approach that aligns with our mission to support market-leading disruptors,” said Omer Zabit, principal at Shorooq Partners.
“We believe this investment will enable DealCart to scale rapidly and significantly impact the lives of millions in Pakistan.”
Pakistan’s DealCart raises $3 mln in funding round led by prominent Middle East investment fund
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Pakistan’s DealCart raises $3 mln in funding round led by prominent Middle East investment fund
- DealCart aims to provide affordable daily essential products to underserved communities in Pakistan through a gamified and interactive platform
- The Pakistani startup helps unlock more value by sourcing products directly from manufacturers and collaborating with locally manufactured brands
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
