BNPL Provider Taro Technologies raises $3.5M Pre-SEED
Pakistan-based Taro Technologies partners and gets supported by UAE's Cashew Payments to service Pakistani merchants with Buy Now Pay Later possibilities.
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Lahore-based FinTech Taro Technologies has successfully raised $3.5M in its latest funding round. The Pre-Seed round which was a mix of angel investment and strategic partnership gained the support of Dubai-based Cashew Payments, the UAE-based BNPL pioneer and Taro’s latest partner, to accelerate its 2022 Q1 launch and growth the company shared in a statement. Founded in 2021, Taro Technologies set forth to bring Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) services to merchants and shoppers across Pakistan and South Asia. Alongside providing flexible payment options, the Pakistan-based FinTech is also enabling access to new forms of credit for underbanked Pakistanis.
Although the Transport & Logistics (T&L) sector in Pakistan raised the lion’s share of investment over 2021, with Pakistan’s highest investment to date closed by T&L startup Airlift, the FinTech space made major strides over the year. As most recently recorded in our Startup Funding- 2022 Emerging Venture Markets Free Report Report, Pakistan-based FinTech startups closed the highest amount of transactions and climbed 2 ranks to become the third-most funded industry in 2021. The two major themes and investor attraction for FinTech in Pakistan over the year were payment infrastructure and micro-crediting solutions, with Payment solutions provider TAG, factoring and crediting solutions providers CreditBook and PostEX, as well as digital banking platform SadaPay raising major rounds in 2021.
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Mustafa Khan, CEO of Taro and former Silicon Valley Apple engineer, stressed that this partnership will enable Taro to be an established player. “Our collaboration with Cashew provides critical insights into risk, merchant acquisition, operations, and customer retention. Those insights paired with support from their experienced and accomplished leadership team position us for a strong launch and to quickly dominate the market.”
Pakistan’s e-commerce sector has seen impressive growth in 2021, with a spend of around $7.2 billion. Taro seeks to provide easy access to credit to all Pakistanis, allowing increased access to e-commerce outlets. Ammar Afif, CEO of Cashew, said, “We are delighted to partner with Taro, in providing 'Buy now, Pay later' solutions for merchants and consumers in Pakistan. As we've grown our business in the GCC, we recognized the need for retailers in Pakistan to have a seamless way of offering flexible payment options to consumers in multiple industries."
Mustafa, now based in Lahore, is currently looking to expand his local network. With this new investment, the Pakistan-based FinTech will be able to support its product and market expansions. “I am thrilled to be launching BNPL in Pakistan through Taro. I’ve noticed Pakistanis are eager for access to new technology that puts them in control. By offering lending services to a wider range of people, we can help provide the control and flexibility they desire,” concluded Mustafa.
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