Karachi-based e-commerce marketplace and digital ledger Bazaar has raised $30m in Series A round, the largest for any Pakistani startup so far.
Silicon Valley-based early-stage VC Defy Partners and Singapore-based Wavemaker Partners led the latest financing round. US-based Acrew Capital, Japan’s Saison Capital, Zayn Capital, B&Y Venture Partners, a Silicon Valley-based growth fund, also took part in the latest funding round along with Bazaar’s existing investors – Indus Valley Capital, Global Founders Capital, Next Billion Ventures, and Alter Global.
Besides, several angel investors including current and former leaders of Antler, Careem, Endeavor, Gumroad, LinkedIn, and Notion also took part in the latest financing round. With the fresh round of funding, Bazaar plans to expand into more cities across Pakistan, broaden its product stack and scale its financial services offerings.
Founded by Saad Jangda and Hamza Jawaid in mid-2020, Bazaar’s aim is to build an operating system for traditional retail in Pakistan, allowing retailers to directly connect with wholesalers and manufacturers. Its mobile-only B2B e-commerce marketplace has enabled thousands of retailers in Karachi and Lahore to easily procure inventory for their stores.
Jangda said, “Bazaar is going after a massive opportunity with the ultimate aim of creating a generational story in and from Pakistan. In a country with incredible talent and huge market opportunity, it’s about time we create an inspirational story that brings together the country’s best talent who can go on to create many such stories in the future.”
Earlier this year, Bazaar also launched a digital ledger app, Easy Khata, to help retailers around the country to manage their bookkeeping. Both apps have served more than 750,000 merchants so far.
Bazaar has recently been testing its latest offering in closed beta, a buy now pay later offering and has seen phenomenal results, doubling its customer wallet share with close to 100% repayments rates.
Defy Partners’ partner Kamil Saeid said, “What Bazaar has managed to accomplish in the last year is incredible. We are extremely impressed by the speed and robustness with which they build and deploy. As Defy’s first investment into Pakistan’s burgeoning tech ecosystem, we feel Bazaar is on its way to create a category-defining company for the country.”
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