Connect with us

Business

Pakistani startup OneLoad raises $11 million from investors to fund growth phase

Published

on

  • Pakistan has the third-largest unbanked population in the world.
  • OneLoad is a pioneer in Pakistan’s fintech industry.
  • OneLoad has raised $11 million from investors to fund a growth phase.

Pakistan’s micro-retailer fintech OneLoad has raised $11 million from investors to fund a growth phase as they focus on tapping the world’s third largest unbanked population, Bloomberg reported.

According to the publication, the latest round of investment was led by Sarmayacar and Shorooq Partners, in cooperation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Strategic Investment Fund, which was making its first investment in Pakistan. 

OneLoad’s Android application, which is primarily used by small shopkeepers, is Pakistan’s largest non-banking digital transaction platform, serving several million customers each month. It collaborates with banks and telecommunications companies to provide services such as payments, cash deposits, and lending.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Muhammad Yar Hiraj, founder and CEO of OneLoad, stated that the company aspires to be the “largest banking platform in the country for the unbanked world, the financially excluded market. “Our goal is to become the largest micro branch for the unbanked without owning any branches,” he said.

OneLoad has 40,000 agents and completed about $100 million in transactions last year. 

According to Hiraj, the company’s goal is to increase daily transactions to one million from the current level of up to 400,000.

Pakistan, the world’s fifth-most populous country, made headlines last year when it received a record $350 million in startup funding. According to the World Bank, the country has a total unbanked population of 110 million adults, ranking third only to India and China.

While digital payments increased in Pakistan during the pandemic, only 1% of nearly $4 trillion in payments are made digitally. Last month, Dbank completed the country’s largest early-stage fundraising round, as well as the entry of venture capital firm Sequoia Capital into Pakistan. SadaPay, another fintech startup, is expected to be the world’s fastest-growing mobile wallet in the five years to 2025, according to research from London-based fintech company Boku Inc.

In contrast to most of its competitors, OneLoad intends to expand its shopkeepers and serve daily wage workers.

According to Hiraj, the startup’s existing backer Systems Ltd. participated in the funding round, as did commercial banks that provided debt funding. The International Financial Corporation of the World Bank is another existing investor.

“We cannot have financial inclusion without solid infrastructure that integrates in people’s daily lives, if the products we build don’t seamlessly integrate with people’s every day, we will not achieve that,” said Tamer Azer, Partner at Shorooq Partners.

“This is what we learned in Egypt and this is what we see as a tremendous opportunity in Pakistan as well,” he added.

Business

IMF board to meet on Jan 11 for Pakistan’s first review approval

Published

on

By

  • Pakistan’s case not included in board meeting agenda for Dec 1-15. 
  • Ongoing SBA programme is going to expire on April 14, 2024.
  • Pakistan, IMF reached agreement on first review last month.

The International Monetary Fund’s Executive Board will take up Pakistan’s first review on January 11 next year for approval that will unlock $700 million under the standby arrangement (SBA), Bloomberg quoted the lender’s spokesperson as saying on Friday.

Last month, Pakistan reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF under the $3 billion SBA and is awaiting the board’s approval to receive a second tranche.

Earlier this week, The News had reported that Pakistan’s first review for approval was not included in the IMF’s Executive Board meeting agenda for the 1-15 December schedule

The publication reported that the IMF did not firm up its exact schedule because the Fund’s team was busy securing re-confirmation from all multilateral and bilateral creditors to meet the financing requirements of $24.9 billion for the current fiscal year.

This delay surfaced in discussions among the policymakers that the IMF might kick-start parleys on the second review probably after the general elections and takeover by the elected government.

The IMF programme was initially scheduled to kick-start parleys for a second review from Feb 3, 2024, but if the elections were scheduled to be held on February 8, 2024, then the possibility of holding talks might be done in the last week of Feb or early March 2024.

The ongoing SBA programme is going to expire on April 14, 2024.

A day earlier, IMF Executive Director Bahador Bijani noted an overall improvement in the economic situation, saying, the “Pakistani authorities have delivered”.

He made these remarks at an event hosted by Pakistan’s ambassador to the US in honour of friends of Pakistan from International Financial Institutions including IMF, International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank (WB), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), at Pakistan House in Washington.

“I think the future for Pakistan is very bright. Pakistan is not just any country. It’s one of the most important countries in the region and in the world. Pakistanis deserve much more,” the IMF executive director was quoted as saying in an official statement.

Nathan Porter, IMF Mission Chief to Pakistan, also expressed satisfaction over the recently concluded staff-level agreement. He said that the actions and policies of the current government reflected its commitment to steer the country towards stabilisation.

Pakistan is reeling from Asia’s fastest inflation, has about $1 billion in dollar-denominated debt due next year and is scheduled to hold elections scheduled in February.

Interim Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar said after the staff-level deal in November that the country may seek an additional loan from the IMF, describing the economy as “still fragile.”

Continue Reading

Business

PSX hits new milestone as KSE-100 surges past 66,000 mark

Published

on

By

KARACHI: Bulls maintained their grip on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) as the benchmark index shot past the 66,000 mark on Friday by gaining over 1,000 points. 

According to the PSX website, the KSE-100 index gained 1,302.45 points or 2.01% to reach 66,020.52 points at 11:39am during the intraday trading.

— Screengrab
— Screengrab

Raza Jafri, who is the head of equities at Karachi-based Intermarket Securities, said that the banks and energy sector lead the rally at the bourse as cheap valuations and a reasonably settled environment help flows remain strong as foreign and local buys continue to invest.

“The MPC (Monetary Policy Meeting) next week should set the tone for near-term trading. While unchanged interest rates are widely expected, investors will look for clues in the text of the monetary policy statement to gauge how much interest rates can come down by next year,” he added. 

Continue Reading

Business

Pakistani authorities have ‘delivered’ on economic front, says top IMF official

Published

on

By

  • IMF official says Pakistan ‘important’ country in the world.
  • “Our country is destined to succeed,” says Masood Khan.
  • Nathan Porter hails actions and policies of Pakistani govt. 

WASHINGTON: Bahador Bijani, an Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has noted an overall improvement in the economic situation, saying, the “Pakistani authorities have delivered”.

He made these remarks at an event hosted by Pakistan’s ambassador to the US in honour of friends of Pakistan from International Financial Institutions including IMF, International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank (WB), and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), at Pakistan House in Washington.

“I think the future for Pakistan is very bright. Pakistan is not just any country. It’s one of the most important countries in the region and in the world. Pakistanis deserve much more,” the IMF executive director was quoted as saying in an official statement.

The meeting took place as Islamabad awaits the IMF board’s meeting to approve a staff-level agreement on the first review of a $3 billion bailout, which will unlock $700 million in funding for the country.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Masood Khan observed that the past year was difficult for Pakistan. “We have passed through a wrenching transition and we are moving toward a new phase of stability,” he added.

“Have faith in Pakistan. Our country is destined to succeed,” he said.

“Our confidence stems from the people of Pakistan. We have a growing middle class and our human capital is increasing at a very fast pace,” he added.

Addressing a gathering of over 40 guests from the IFIs, the ambassador said that we were grateful to IFIs for their steadfast support in navigating through a difficult economic period.

Nathan Porter, IMF Mission Chief to Pakistan, speaking on the occasion, expressed satisfaction over the recently concluded staff-level agreement. He said that the actions and policies of the current government reflected its commitment to steer the country towards stabilisation.

“With that base, hopefully, we can build on and be able to move forward to reforms to build a stronger, prosperous and inclusive Pakistan,” he said.

He also appreciated the cooperation and the policies pursued by the State Bank of Pakistan for ensuring fiscal stability in the country.

Athanasios Arvanitis, Deputy Director Middle East and Central Asia Department IMF, also spoke on the occasion and expressed the hope that the elections in Pakistan would usher into a new beginning of undertaking a reform process that the country needed to make progress and address some of its structural issues.

Thanking them for their strong support, Ambassador Khan observed that the digitisation of Pakistan’s economy was creating new opportunities in the country for its youth and professionals taking the lead role in steering the country towards a bright future.

Lauding the professional achievements of Pakistanis working in the IFIs, the ambassador observed that Pakistani professionals have proved their mettle and have made the entire nation proud of their accomplishments.

“We are a nation of talented people. If you can make it, Pakistan will also make it,” observed the ambassador.

Syed Ali Abbas, Advisor Mission Chief UK, European Department IMF, in his remarks, expressed the hope that with the successful completion of the electoral process in Pakistan, the country would move towards a long-term and more durable approach which would change the trajectory of Pakistan.

Aftab Qureshi from the World Bank and Sidra Rehman from the IMF also spoke on the occasion and assured their continued cooperation.

The ambassador thanked the members of the IFIs and said that the country looked forward to working with its development partners.

Continue Reading

Trending