A few years ago, a quiet tech revolution began brewing in Pakistan’s labyrinthine retail sector. As Pakistan’s tech sector finally started to attract serious amounts of venture capital from global investors, the sector that attracted the most money by far were the multiple players that set about trying to modernise this large segment of the Pakistani economy. Four companies jumped into the fray, and each raised massive sums of money, or at least massive by Pakistani standards: Bazaar ($108 million in total capital raised), Dastgyr ($41 million raised), Retailo ($60 million raised), and Tajir ($19 million raised). The thesis was straightforward: the retail sector may have narrow margins, but its filled with multiple layers of middlemen for every product. Three of the four companies got their start in 2020, with only Tajir having started earlier in 2018.

Source: Pakistan Today October 14, 2024 16:13 UTC