Pakistani startups raised $6.8 million in disclosed equity funding across five deals in Q3 2023.
That’s 87% less than the $55 million raised in Q3 of 2022 but 40% more than the $5 million raised in Q2 of 2023. Deals decreased by 44% YoY and 29% QoQ.
This brings the YTD funding to $35 million.
A Modest Rebound
For Pakistani startups, July started grim despite a modest rebound in funding.
The month resembled a ghost town – no deals to speak of. And two well-funded startups shut down within 48 hours of each other, one completely and the other partially.
MedznMore, an online pharmacy, announced it will shut down all operations. This was followed by Jugnu, a B2B retail marketplace that branched off from Salesflo, saying Salesflo would absorb its remnants.
MedznMore is the first high-profile startup to fail after Airlift, followed by Jugnu. Combined, this trio raised $150 million over two years.
In a country where disclosed equity funding in startups hasn’t crossed $1 billion, $150 million is significant.
August saw a slight reprieve with a single funding deal, followed by four in September. Despite these modest improvements, funding has not moved in a more favorable direction for the year.
There was a glimmer of hope in Q2 from the IMF loan, which could rekindle investor confidence. However, startup funding has yet to benefit from this shot in the arm.
As we enter Q4, the total funding for 2023 stands at a meager $35 million, painting a bleak picture when measured against the $331 million raised by this time last year. Even hitting a $50 million total by year-end seems unlikely.
Let’s do the numbers.
List of startups that raised funding in Q3 2023
- Paismo raised $1.3 million in seed funding from Indus Valley Capital, Antler, and Jedar Capital.
- Zyp Technologies raised $1.2 million in seed funding from Indus Valley Capital.
- Elphinstone raised $1 million in seed funding from Y Combinator, Hi2 Global, and Soma Capital.
- Truckistan raised $1 million in seed funding from Reflect Ventures, OMentor’srtups (SOSV), Mentor’s Fund, Sarmayacar, sAI ventures, Loyal VC and Five Rivers Ventures.
- Taleemabad raised $2.3 million in seed funding from Malala Fund and Sorenson.
Endnote
If you think I missed a startup, please DM me on Twitter with the link to the startup funding announcement.
If you want to access the entire database that includes all startup funding transactions since 2014, you can purchase it here.
Criteria: Active VC or Angel-funded startups founded by a Pakistani and headquartered in Pakistan with the majority of employees and at least one founder in Pakistan and a product created for the global and Pakistani market. If not headquartered in Pakistan, the majority of employees and at least one founder is in Pakistan. It does not include rounds with funding amounts less than $250,000.
Data sources: internal tracker.
*Some numbers are rounded up/down for clarity.
