Pakistan-based fintech and advanced-salary platform ‘Abhi’ has attracted foreign investment at a $40 million valuation in a bridge round led by investors based out of the UAE and USA.
According to Abhi’s Chief Executive Officer, Omair Ansari, the bridge round was headed by Global Ventures of the United Arab Emirates, which was investing in Pakistan for the first time. Next Billion Ventures, VEF AB, Rally Cap Sarmayacar, and VentureSouq, all based in the United States, as well as TPL e-Ventures and i2i Ventures, also took part in the financing, reported Bloomberg.
Across Asia, venture capital funds have increased their investments in businesses with unicorn potential to generate big-digit revenue in less time and with good reason. This year, Pakistan, the world’s fifth-most populous country, received more than $300 million in startup funding, a record figure that exceeds the previous six years combined.
Abhi has observed “explosive growth” that’s prompted another investment round for it in just four months, explained Ansari, who moved to Karachi for the startup after quitting a high-paying job based out of New York, where he was in charge of two funds seeking investments in emerging and frontier markets.
Discussing his willingness to expand Abhi across the region’s financial ecosystem, Ansari told Bloomberg,
It didn’t make sense for me, Indonesia and Pakistan are literally the same country from a very 30,000-foot view. I’ve seen this work in other places. I said, if I don’t do this, someone else will.
In Pakistan, Abhi already has 75 clients, including the ice cream parlor, Baskin-Robbins, and online store, Daraz. The company plans its Series A round in 2022 and may constitute operations in Bangladesh during the same year. Ansari added that a platform with access to advanced salaries doesn’t exist in Sri Lanks and the Middle East, which tenders expansion opportunities for the startup in the region.
With services like Abhi, people can use the site instead of asking their employer, family, or friends for money or using their credit card to make ends meet until their next paycheck arrives. A registered user can access their funds in less than 30 seconds and two clicks, with a flat transaction cost of 2 percent. The payments are withdrawn from your next paycheck automatically. Abhi also provides working capital to companies.
