Pakistan’s payment company – Wemsol Pvt., better known as Keenu – is seeking $5 million funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
Keenu, a Karachi-based company, makes point-of-sale debit and credit card machines. The company’s Chief Executive Officer, Syed Ejaz Hassan, said that Keenu will utilize the money for the expansion of its network, Bloomberg reported.
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According to Numero Advisors, the company is also planning to create consumer and merchant wallets. For this purpose, it will seek a license from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Keenu is also the only non-bank entity in the point-of-sale space, with about 10,000 machines. This accounts for nearly 30 percent of the total market share.
IFC’s board will consider the investment proposal by end-August, a statement by IFC to media said.
If the transaction is successful, it will mark a record fundraising spree by Pakistan’s startups. Numero Advisors are arrangers of the transaction.
Since January this year, Pakistan’s startups have raised a record $101 million.
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A major chunk of this funding has gone to e-commerce and fintech firms, said the news report quoting a tracker from venture capitalist fund Invest2Innovate.
However, a major chunk of the country’s population remains out of the formal banking channels. According to the World Bank data, Pakistan has the third-largest unbanked adult population globally, with about 100 million adults without a bank account.
