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
https://arab.news/jzwcd
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 opposition rallies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to demand release of Imran Khan
- PTI-led gathering calls the former PM a national hero and demands the release of all political prisoners
- Government says the opposition failed to draw a large crowd and accuses PTI of damaging its own politics
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition led by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party demanded the release of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan at a rally in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Sunday, describing him as a national hero who continues to command public support.
The gathering came days after a rare and strongly worded briefing by the military’s media chief, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, who dismissed Khan as “narcissistic” and “mentally ill” on Friday while responding to the former premier’s allegations that Pakistan’s chief of defense forces was responsible for undermining the constitution and rule of law.
He said that Khan was promoting an anti-state narrative which had become a national security threat.
The participants of the rally called for “civilian supremacy” and said elected representatives should be treated with respect.
“We, the people of Pakistan, regard Imran Khan as a national hero and the country’s genuinely elected prime minister, chosen by the public in the February 8, 2024 vote,” said a resolution presented at the rally in Peshawar. “We categorically reject and strongly condemn the notion that he or his colleagues pose any kind of threat to national security.”
“We demand immediate justice for Imran Khan, Bushra Bibi and all political prisoners, and call for their prompt release,” it added, referring to Khan’s wife who is also in prison. “No restrictions should be placed on Imran Khan’s meetings with his family, lawyers or political associates.”
Addressing the gathering, Sohail Afridi, the chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, denied his administration was not serious about security issues amid increased militant activity. However, he maintained the people of his province had endured the worst of Pakistan’s conflict with militancy and urged a rethinking of long-running security policies.
The resolution asked the federal government to restore bilateral trade and diplomatic channels with Afghanistan, saying improved cross-border ties were essential for the economic stability of the region.
The trade between the two neighbors has suffered as Pakistan accuses the Taliban administration in Kabul of sheltering and facilitating armed groups that it says launch cross-border attacks to target its civilians and security forces. Afghan officials deny the claim.
The two countries have also had deadly border clashes in recent months that have killed dozens of people on both sides.
Some participants of the rally emphasized the restoration of democratic freedoms, judicial independence and space for political reconciliation, calling them necessary to stabilize the country after years of political confrontation.
Reacting to the opposition rally, Information Minister Attaullah Tarrar said the PTI and its allies could not gather enough people.
“In trying to build an anti-army narrative, they have ruined their own politics,” he said, adding that the rally’s reaction to the military’s media chief’s statement reflected “how deeply it had stung.”
“There was neither any argument nor any real response,” he added, referring to what was said by the participants of the rally.
