Issue #2 - July 2022
Issue #2 - July 2022
Hey there! I’m Shifra and this is the second edition of i2i Insights, a newsletter where we bring you updates and important info about the Pakistani startup ecosystem. This post will be recapping important developments for July 2022 — and, spoiler alert, there’s quite a lot that’s transpired recently. Let’s get into it👇🏾
📍 You Should Know:
Airlift, Pakistan’s most well-funded startup, shuts down.
Airlift’s last round was an $85M Series B in August (at a valuation of $275M). Airlift was reportedly in talks to secure a “Series C1 financing,” but cited “rapidly deteriorating conditions in the global economy” as a reason for their shut-down.
👉🏼 If you’d like to understand a bit more about what happened, we’d recommend reading:
Rabii Malik’s On the Rise and Fall of Airlift
Sabah Baxamoosa’s Before We Forget About Airlift
Or Ariba Shahid’s piece in Deal Street Asia
And if you are generally curious about top reasons why startups fail, here’s CBInsights’ list of startup failure post-mortems.
Trouble at TAG.
ProfitPK first reported on signs of trouble at fintech startup, TAG.The story focuses on a doctored document, and a pledged $45M from a Hong Kong based investment firm that never existed. Check out TAG’s holding statement below:
Sequoia makes debut investment in Pakistan’s DBank.
DBank’s $17.6M seed Round marks the largest seed round in the ecosystem, and Sequoia’s first ever investment in a Pakistani startup. The round was co-led by Kleiner Perkins, and included participation from Brazil’s neobank Nubank, Askari Bank, and Rayn Ventures.
💸 Dealflow Updates:
24SEVEN raises $6M in pre-series A funding.
Founded in 2016, the former grocery-delivery startup now services neighbourhood mom-and-pop (kiryana) stores. This round included participation from Betatron Venture Group, Newlin VC, Verity Capital, Argo’s Quest, and multiple local and international family offices. Angel investors in this round included Babs Ogundeyi, founder of Nigerian fintech Kuda Bank, and Murtaza Ahmed, former managing partner of SoftBank’s Latin America Fund.
Linkstar raises an undisclosed amount in pre-seed funding, at a $5M valuation.
Launched in January 2022, Linkstar is an A.I powered webspace that enables freelancers and influencers to sell D2C services via payment and social media integrations. The round included participation SOSV, Sarmayacar, and K3 Ventures.
Dealcart raises $4.5M in seed funding.
Launched just three months ago, Dealcart is a group buying platform that provides underserved communities with access to affordable daily essential products. The round was led by Shorooq Partners, and included participation from Fatima Gobi Ventures, Vibe Capital, 500 Global, i2i Ventures, Julian Shapiro, Rally Cap Ventures, Alex Lazarow and other strategic investors.
🧐Other Updates:
Raabtaa Tech launches operations in Pakistan.
Founded in 2022, and backed by Antler Global, Raabta Tech recently launched operations in Karachi. The startup provides an on-demand staffing solution for the warehousing and logistics space.
Matcha Capital invests in BitBlaze, a cryptocurrency exchange coming to Pakistan.
Europe-based crypto investment fund Matcha Capital has made a significant investment in BitBlaze, a crypto exchange powered by Binance that will be launching in Pakistan soon.
We want to spotlight that many i2i Ventures portfolio companies are hiring!
You can view & apply directly to job openings at i2i Ventures’ portfolio companies here. If you don’t see an open position for you now, fill out this form and become part of the i2i Ventures database, where companies can discover & reach out to you.
Whew — Told you a lot happened in July 😮💨 We’ll be back with another post next month. In the meantime, questions/comments/feedback? Email or DM me.