Pakistan-based fintech Startup and advanced salary platform Abhi has attracted foreign investment at a valuation of $40 million in a bridge round led by investors based out of the UAE and US.
According to Abhi’s CEO, Omair Ansari:
“The bridge round was headed by Global Ventures of the UAE, which was investing in Pakistan for the first time. Next Billion Ventures, VEF AB, Rally Cap Sarmayacar, and VentureSouq, all based in the United States, as well as TPL e-Ventures and i2i Ventures, also took part in the financing.”
Across Asia, venture capital funds have increased their investments in businesses with unicorn potential to generate big-digit revenue in less time and with good reason. This year, Pakistan, the world’s fifth-most populous country, received more than $300 million in startup funding, a record figure that exceeds the previous six years combined.
Ansari moved to Karachi for the startup after quitting a high-paying job based out of New York, where he was in charge of two funds seeking investments in emerging and frontier markets.
Abhi’s Ansari explained:
Pakistani Startup Abhi has observed “explosive growth” that’s prompted another investment round for it in just 4 months,
Discussing his willingness to expand Abhi across the region’s financial ecosystem, Ansari said:
It didn’t make sense for me, Indonesia and Pakistan are literally the same country from a very 30,000-foot view. I’ve seen this work in other places. I said, if I don’t do this, someone else will.
In Pakistan, Abhi already has 75 clients, including the ice cream parlor, Baskin-Robbins, and online store, Daraz. The company plans its Series A round in 2022 and may constitute operations in Bangladesh during the same year. Ansari added that a platform with access to advanced salaries doesn’t exist in Sri Lanks and the Middle East, which tenders expansion opportunities for the startup in the region.
