Markaz, an Islamabad-based online reseller marketplace, raised $2.4 million in seed funding from Indus Valley Capital.
Elevator Pitch: Become financially independent and start a new business for zero investment.
Tell me more: Imagine you have a decent social circle and sell products that you source from different vendors. Or maybe you are looking to monetize your social clout.
Buying inventory, getting different sizes and colors, etc., will sooner or later overwhelm you.
What if you get a size request that you don’t carry or a quantity you can’t deliver?
After all, running a WhatsApp shop comes with some limitations.
Now imagine doing the same thing but without any inventory. As in, you can sell first and then later purchase the merchandise.
That’s the value proposition of Markaz.
Without investing in inventory, you can source wholesale products from across the country and sell them through WhatsApp, Facebook, or any other social commerce platform.
Markaz makes the entire process easy peasy.
Your customers get quality products at the lowest price, delivered efficiently, and decide the commission you would like to earn.
By the numbers: Planet Retail estimates the retail market in Pakistan to be around $152 billion. Only 2-3% of that market is online, providing significant potential for e-commerce.
Markaz carries over 10,000+ products in its wholesale marketplace and will drop ship to over 1,200+ cities across Pakistan.
You should know: Markaz was founded in 2021 by Shoaib Khan, Fawad Hussain, Sameel Hayat, and Umair Aslam.
Earlier this year, it raised $500,000 from Y Combinator and graduated from its W22 accelerator program.
To date, Markaz has raised $2.9 million in startup funding.
Before you go: Markaz plans to use the funding to further scale and develop its mobile platform and improve user experience by optimizing delivery operations, payments, and customer service.
In addition to that, it is expanding its team in Islamabad, Lahore, and Faisalabad.
