PostEx closes their SEED at $8.6M
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Another successful funding round raised by Lahore-based FinTech and logistics startups PostEx brought their SEED fundraise up to $8.6M, to record one of Pakistan’s biggest early-stage seed funding rounds. PostEx secured the funds through an assortment of rounds, the most recent was led by Global Founders Capital and also featured first-time investments from FJ Labs and RTP Global. Other investors included MSA Capital, VentureSouq, Shorooq Partners, and Zayn Capital.
PostEx, which launched in April, assists e-commerce enterprises with working capital issues by offering cash before delivery and financing to help them run their businesses. In a primarily cash-based economy, running a business online comes with challenges of cash recovery cycles and impeding scaling due to working capital constraints. Challenges on the last-mile delivery front also lead to high cancellations and the lack of financing options adversely affects the growth of E-commerce businesses in Pakistan. PostEx addresses both challenges by providing upfront payment on Cash on Delivery orders, complemented by an efficient in-house logistics fleet for E-commerce businesses, thereby helping businesses grow via easy and instant access to cash and liquidity.
More than double the deals in 2021 YTD backing Pakistan-based FinTech startups, drove the industry’s funding growth beyond the 1,800%YoY in a sudden shift recorded in our Q3 2021 EVM FinTech Venture Investment Report. FinTech startups raised 5x the amount of funding in the past 4 years collectively by the third quarter of this year alone, which marks a positive inclination and a newfound investor interest for this Emerging Venture Market. It was local and global investors like UK-based Zayn Capital, i2i Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, US-based HOF Capital, and China-based MSA Capital that drove the impeccable backing of innovative digital infrastructures in the FinTech & E-commerce spaces this year.
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In the recent capital boom, Pakistan’s e-commerce landscape has attracted some heavy level of investment rounds. While the bulk of the population has yet to adopt online shopping, companies like PostEx still believe in exploiting potential growth opportunities for the sector to expand and transactions to reach $10 Bn by 2025, up from roughly $6 Bn presently. Omer Khan, Co-Founder, and CEO highlighted “Our focus from the very beginning has been to become the go-to growth platform for merchants looking to realize their potential. We are at the forefront of innovative technology solutions that bridge merchants’ logistics needs with their capital requirements.”
Omar elaborated that within this market demographic underserved by traditional financial providers, PostEx is the differentiator that helps merchants grow faster and more economically with a range of customized financial products.Subsequently, Fabrice Grinda, Founding Partner at FJ Labs commented “We’re thrilled to partner with Omer and PostEx for our first-ever investment in Pakistan. Pakistan is one of the largest untapped frontier markets going through digital transformation – and financial products that enable local merchants to grow faster will form the backbone of this future. We believe PostEx’s technology and the team have them well-positioned to capitalize on this massive opportunity, and we’re excited to back them on this journey.”
The Lahore-based startup plans to channel its newly acquired funds into expanding the startup’s reach to 15-20 locations in Pakistan, grow to its workforce, and launch other and more engaging products for the people’s benefit. Tito Costa, Partner at Global Founders Capital, said, “PostEx offers a unique product to e-commerce players in the Pakistani ecosystem, allowing them to unlock precious capital to accelerate their growth. We are excited to back the team as they build out their suite of financial and fulfillment products.” While Kirill Kozhevnikov, a Partner with ru-Net, a new fund of the RTP Global family concluded “Very excited to partner with Omer and team-PostEx. They are our first commitment in the region. VC has no geographical boundaries, and we see tremendous potential in emerging markets such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and MENA. Big and growing market, disruptive business model, and exceptional entrepreneurial talent – our must-haves criteria for portfolio companies – were matched on the 20th minute of the first meeting. Looking forward to building something big together!”
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