24SEVEN, Lahore-based B2B2C e-commerce and retail startup raised $6 million in Pre-Series A funding from Betatron Venture Group, Newlin VC, Verity Capital, and Argo’s Quest.
Elevator Pitch: Integrating mom-and-pop stores into one brand experience.
Make me care: Approximately 5 million small and medium-sized businesses operate in Pakistan, and the retail market is worth $170 billion.
Kiryana stores account for more than 1 million of the 5 million small and medium-sized businesses.
By creating a unified consumer experience, 24SEVEN hopes to help Kiryana stores expand their reach.
Tell me more: 24SEVEN started as a consumer-facing grocery delivery service.
The company expanded into B2B via the Apni Dukan platform during COVID, utilizing branding and digitization to help kiryana stores reach customers.
Through its Apni Dukan service, kiryana stores are rebranded into a single brand experience.
As an added benefit, kiryana stores use data to simplify ordering for up to 80% of their inventory. Moreover, store owners benefit from reduced costs and can manage cash flow better through financing.
With more than 2,500 resellers across six cities, 24SEVEN claims that it has been growing GMV by 40% month-over-month while maintaining positive unit economics.
You should know: 24SEVEN was founded in 2016 by Jarrar Shah, Maha Khalid, Muaz Zafar, Kashif Mukhtar, Qaiser Sheikh, and Nabil Shahzad.
To date, it has raised $7.2 million in disclosed funding.
Last year, it raised $150,000 from SOSV after graduating from its MOX accelerator and in June it raised $1 million in seed funding.
Zoom out: Pakistan is in a race to digitize its retail grocery industry. Business models ranging from quick commerce to strict B2B are all gaining traction.
Unlike other startups, 24SEVEN differentiates itself by helping consumers and retailers at the same time.
