Karachi-based YPay Financial Services PVT. LTD., an Investec company that enables first-time investors to start investing, has raised a seven-figure pre-seed investment at the end of 2021 through US-based accelerator fund ODX (On Deck).
The Founding Director of Pakistan Fintech Network, Baqar Jafri, announced the accomplishment, stating, “YPay, an autopilot for millennial investors, raises pre-seed round from On Deck at $2 million valuation. Great things happen when regulators, mentors, and ecosystem supposrt entrepreneurs!”
According to the details shared with ProPakistani, the $2 million valuation deal took place entirely remotely and within two weeks. The team was also interviewed and shortlisted by California-based Y-Combinator around the same time.
Founded in August 2020, YPay is co-led by Sarfraz Hussain and Muhammad Furqan Karim Kidwai. It is currently ramping up operations to scale across Pakistan and is aggressively expanding its team of technologists, brand strategists, and marketers to build its dream team.
The company is now in the process of going commercial as it has successfully graduated from the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan’s (SECP) 1st Regulatory Sandbox cohort.
It has partnered with more than five financial institutions while running its pilot in 2021 and is ready to go national in a few weeks.
YPay is one of the many startups that was mentored by the former President of P@SHA and founder of Nest I/O and Katalyst Labs, Jehan Ara.
Co-founders Sarfraz Shahid Hussain and Muhammad Furqan Karim Kidwai told ProPakistani that “there is a big gap in financial literacy around investment avenues especially for first-time investors, and a lack of ease of use is present in investment apps of Pakistan, which adds a barrier to entry for them. We at YPay understand these barriers for the first-time investor and we aspire to eliminate the barriers to maximize adoption of investment apps like YPay Financial”.
Currently operating under the National Incubation Center, Karachi, YPay operates under the leadership of Project Director Omar Abedin. With over 25 years of experience, Abedin has worked with the likes of Philips, Reckitt Benckiser, Johnson & Johnson, Careem, Graana, and many others. Omar continues to value innovation, insight-based decision-making, team development and drive towards developing powerful brands.
YPay is an app that enables commonfolk to invest digitally in mutual funds. It aims at creating a digital future for Pakistan, and facilitating the population in the smart investment of their money, and helping them track their current financial statistics.
The main aim of YPay is to create financial literacy among people, bridge the gap between the Pakistani youth and the capital market, promote a culture of savings, and provide a means to invest in mutual funds via the application.
YPay provides an easy means of investing in solutions with zero paperwork, free financial advice, and investment returns at any time.
Pakistani startups raised a total of $337 million in funding across 71 deals in 2021. The year has been phenomenal for startups and has bagged three times the funding as compared to both 2019 and 2020 combined, as highlighted by Invest2Innovate co-founder Kalsoom Lakhani. The latest pre-seed funding acquired by YPay is a step forward for fintech startups towards a financially secure Pakistan.
