Krave Mart, a Karachi-based rapid grocery delivery company, has become the latest startup to raise funding, raising $6 million in its pre-seed round, the largest in the country’s early stage funding, reported Bloomberg.

The funding round was led by MSA Capital, ru-Net, Global Founders Capital and Zayn Capital, informed Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Krave Mart, Kassim Shroff.

Saison Capital, 2AM, Mehta Ventures, Jedar Capital and Lakson Investments were other investors that participated in the round, added the report.

Krave Mart plans to utilise the latest funding for its expansion in Pakistan.

ADB-backed Rider raises $2.3 million in seed round

The CEO shared his startup's plans to enter 10 more Pakistani cities by the end of the first-quarter next year. The company also eyes to expand its operation in Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh.

“We are where India was 10 years ago. It will take us just 2-3 years to catch up because the ecosystem really favours us,” Shroff was quoted as saying, emphasising on Pakistan’s young tech-savvy population. “We felt there is huge space.”

Quick commerce “is a hyper-fragmented and inefficient experience” in Pakistan, added Tim Chen, general partner at MSA Capital. “We’ve benchmarked and invested in similar models globally and believe Pakistan is a market ripe for disruption.”

Pakistani startups have witnessed a renaissance of sorts in 2021, with multiple companies fetching multi-million dollars from both local and international investors.

Last week, Lahore-based fashion e-commerce platform Clicky managed to raise $2.4 million in pre-Series A round.

Pakistan's fashion e-commerce startup Clicky raises $2.4mn in pre-Series A funding

Last month, Udhaar Book, a Karachi-based cashflow management services provider, raised $6 million in early funding.

In the first nine months of the ongoing year, Pakistan's startups raised a record amount of funds at over $305 million, according to data compiled by Karachi-based Alpha Beta Core (ABCore), an early-stage tech-based investment firm.

The amount is over 1.5 times higher than the previous six years combined with investments focused on early-stage funding rounds, pointing to the growth potential, experts say.

This story was first published in Business Recorder on Dec 15, 2021.