One-year-old startup is helping merchants in Pakistan to build a business-to–business marketplace and digitize their books. This is the latest mega round in South Asia.
Bazaar announced Tuesday that it had raised $30 million in Series A funding. Silicon Valley-based Wavemaker Partners and Wavemaker Partners, both early stage VCs based in Singapore, led the new financing round that was the largest Series A in Pakistan.
The new round also saw participation of scores of other investors, including former and current leaders of Antler and Careem, Endeavor and Gumroad as well as Acrew Capital and Japans Saison Capital, UAEs Zayn Capital, B&Y Venture Partners, Acrew Capital, Acrew Capital, Japans Saison Capital, UAEs Zayn Capital, B&Y Venture Partners, Acrew Capital, Acrew Capital, Japans Saison Capital, UAEs Zayn Capital, B&Y Venture Partners, Global Founders Capital and Next Billion Ventures and Alter Global Ventures Capital, Global Founders Capital, Global Ventures Capital, Next Billion Ventures and Global Ventures Capital.
Bazaar can be viewed in a variety of ways, especially if you've been following the Indian startup scene. It is a mix between Udaan or KhataBook. In an interview, Hamza Jawaid, cofounder of Bazaar, stated that this is a great way to describe us. He said that we had the benefit of hindsight to look at India and other emerging markets.
These two companies had many synergies. Commerce is a complex business. You have to acquire each merchant in every category separately. Khata is available for download in every city and each category. It's a great tool to acquire customers, he stated on a WhatsApp chat, adding that it also gives greater insight into businesses.
The Bazaars marketplace for business-to-business, which allows merchants to purchase inventories at a fixed price and select from a larger catalog, is available in Karachi, Lahore and other major cities of Pakistan. Easy Khata is also available across the country.
Bazaars co-founder Saad Jangda said that the stakes are a booming market which has yet to see technology deployment. They have been friends since childhood, and they reconnected in Dubai several years ago. Jawaid was at McKinsey & Company, while Jangda was with Careem as a product manger for ride-hailing products and food delivery products.
Pakistan has approximately 5 million small and medium-sized business owners. Although a large portion of Pakistan's population is now online, the majority of merchants are still not connected.
Since 2017, we have been investing in FMCG B2B markets across the region. Paul Santos, Wavemaker Partners' Managing Partner, stated that we have been impressed with Hamza, Saad and their customer-centric approach to product design and their speed in learning.
They have received glowing reviews from customers and partners, so it's not surprising that they get high marks. He said that Bazaar is a great company to support as they strengthen their market leadership and digitize Pakistan's retail industry.
According to the startup, it has accumulated more than 750,000 merchants since its launch last year. It appears to have solved the problem many of its South Asian peers still struggle with: retention. Bazaar claimed that it has a 90% retention ratio.
Jangda was kind enough to answer my question about whether he would like to expand into the dukaan market. Many startups in Asia are working on tools that will allow merchants to set up an online presence and take digital orders. He stated that the market is not yet ready for a dukaan product. He said that the B2C market is still in development, which means there isn't much demand from consumers yet.
Financial services is the new focus. The startup claims that it has been testing a buy-now-pay-later product, and early results show a 100% repayment.
Bazaar is pursuing a huge opportunity to create a story that will be remembered by generations in Pakistan. The founders believe it is time to tell an inspiring story in a country that has incredible talent and enormous market opportunities.
The startup hopes to eventually become a super-app or an operating system that covers all aspects of retail in Pakistan. The startup plans to use the new funds to expand its services in more cities across Pakistan, and to build and scale up more products.
It is amazing what Bazaar has accomplished in the past year. We are impressed with the speed and reliability with which they build and implement. We feel that Bazaar, Defy Partners' first investment in Pakistans burgeoning tech industry, is well on its way towards creating a company that will be a category-defining entity for Pakistan," Kamil Saeid Partner at Defy Partners.
Tuesday's announcement comes one week after Airlift (another startup from Pakistan) announced a major round.
