In one of the largest seed funding rounds, Bazaar has raised $6.5 million in seed funding in a round co-led by Global Founders Capital and Indus Valley Capital. This is Global Founders first investment in a Pakistani startup and the amount raised should set a great example for other startups in the region to aspire for and gain investment for their idea.
Bazaar had previously raised $1.3 million in a pre-seed round led by Indus Valley Capital, the Pakistan-focused fund started by Aatif Awan. Bazaar aims to give business owners access to a large assortment of goods from multiple local and international brands as well as unbranded products on a single platform – which can be ordered at any day of the week with free next day delivery to storefronts.
The startup did a closed pilot in Karachi in June last year due to extreme COVID-19 lockdown restrictions and as per the founders, they found immense potential in this segment. Commenting on the seed funding, Bazaar co-founder Saad Jandga said:
At Bazaar, we believe that building the technology layer for traditional commerce is a massive opportunity. With the sheer size of the Pakistani market, a new narrative and spotlight on our ecosystem and an abundance of Pakistanis moving back home, we finally have all the right fundamentals to build massive tech institutions. We have been blown away by our early team and humbled by the roster of investors who are supporting us on this journey. It is further validation of the sheer yet untapped potential of tech in our country.
The seed fund will also help the Bazaar team to expand operations and HR as per their vision to expand in the region. They also have other products in the pipeline, as noted in the discussion with MENAbytes but they will be focusing on the marketplace as a priority right now.
