Pakistani Startups Raise a Staggering $350 Million Funds in 2021

Pakistan’s startup sector is growing at a rapid pace with a number of new startups being set up in all corners of the country. It is evident by the performance of this sector in 2021. Pakistani startups made a total of 81 deals worth $350 million, according to a source. If we compare it with 2020 in which $65 million were raised, it’s certainly a laudable achievement.

Statistics from the Deal Flow Tracker regarding Pakistani Startups:

Deal Flow Tracker by Invest2Innovate keeps an eye on this data and shows investments made in Pakistani startups from 2015 to 2021. From 2015 to 2021, Pakistani startups raised a total of $563.5 million, amongst which 62% was raised in 2020 alone indicating the growth this sector has made in the preceding years. The data also shows that the startups related to e-commerce, fintech, and logistics raised the most funding in 2021. If we examine the stats on a quarterly basis, Pakistani startups raised $69 million in Q4 of 2021, which is comparatively less than what they did in Q3 i.e. $172.6 million.

Top three biggest deals of 2021:

• Airlift ($85 million)
• Bazaar ($30 million)
• Tajir ($17 million)

Furthermore, the sectors related to E-commerce emerged as the most-funded sector in 2021, accumulating $202 million of funds raised in the year. Fintech was second on the list with $95 million funding raised in 2021. The e-commerce sector was followed by trucking & logistics that raised $17.4 million.

The Founder and CEO of Invest2Innovate, Kalsoom Lakhani said,

The funding landscape has shifted significantly with startups raising significantly larger rounds at pre-seed and seed than before.

While giving remarks regarding the emerging fintech sector, Kalsoom said that it was initiated for the first time, mainly due to the regulatory changes made by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). Furthermore, Kalsoom said,

This is only the beginning — unicorn valuations are the first thing, but the focus should also be on where exits will come because that will be a tipping point in this market.

Check out? PITB and Sweden-based Nutty Ventures sign MoU for promotion of local startups