OneLoad, Pakistan’s leading fintech for micro-retailers, closes a new financing round of $11Million as the company gears up for a new chapter in its growth trajectory.
The company will use this capital to expand its suite of products and services, targeted at the large unbanked population in Pakistan. “We are a grass roots company for the grass roots,” said Muhammad Yar Hiraj, Founder and CEO of Oneload.
The latest investment round was led by Sarmayacar and Shorooq Partners, with participation from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Strategic Investment Fund. The new investors join Oneload’s existing backers which includes Systems Limited and International Financial Corporation (World Bank Group). The round also included new debt funding provided by leading commercial banks in the country. “We are excited to back Oneload in its push to drive financial inclusion in Pakistan by being a conduit between retailers, suppliers and end customers. There is tremendous scope to expand and scale Oneload’s product offering so the masses can benefit from the fintech revolution underway in the country,” commented Rabeel Warraich, Managing Partner at Sarmayacar.
OneLoad, via various digital banking and payment services, enables micro-retailers to connect with suppliers, accept digital payments, and avail working capital options for their business needs. The company adds new revenue streams for those micro- retailers who in turn help improve the standard of living and access to financial services for their end customers. Its android app is one of the largest digital transaction platforms in Pakistan, serving several million customers each month and plays a vital role in Pakistan’s mission of greater financial inclusion for its people.
“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 peoples every day, we will not achieve that. This is what we learned in Egypt and this is what we see as a tremendous opportunity in Pakistan as well. Oneload is the intuitive nationwide infrastructure that Pakistan’s unbanked population needs to come into the fold, we see a company that relates to people and improves their well-being, both financially and socially” said Tamer Azer, Partner at Shorooq Partners.
Oneload’s parent entity E-Processing Systems (Private) has received in-principle approval from the State Bank of Pakistan to operate as an Electronic Money Institution (EMI). The current investment also marks the successful scaling of Oneload’s digital lending products, in collaboration with banks and regulated financial partners, to over PKR 10 million of daily disbursements, creating a new lifeline for thousands of micro- retailers across the country. The company aims to eventually become a full stack bank for micro-retailers in the country.
“We are excited to bring new partners to the company like Sarmayacar and Shorooq Partners, working with them brings valuable tech and venture capital expertise to the company and pushes us to continue to innovate and evolve with the market around us. Our vision is to fully digitize the financial needs of the unbanked and the financially excluded masses in Pakistan. We appreciate the support of our investors to build on our success and scale up our portfolio of financial products for the unbanked,” noted Muhammad Yar Hiraj, Founder and CEO of Oneload.
About Sarmayacar
Sarmayacar is Pakistan’s leading venture capital firm, having pioneered the VC ecosystem in the country as the first institutional fund in 2018. Sarmayacar invests in market-transforming technology startups in Pakistan across fintech, logistics, e- commerce, health-tech and other adjacent areas. Some of Sarmayacar’s notable portfolio companies include Abhi, Bykea, Jugnu, Dawaai, and Revolving Games amongst others.
For further information: connect@sarmayacar.com; sarmayacar.com
About Shorooq
Founded in 2017, Shorooq Partners is the leading seed-stage venture capital firm investing in the most innovative startups across the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan (MENAP region). The firm built deep sectoral expertise in Fintech, Platforms, Software and Web3.0. Shorooq Partners has backed market leading disruptors, some of which include Pure Harvest Smart Farms, Sarwa, Lean Technologies, TruKKer, Capiter, Retailo, Airlift, Mozn and Penny. Since its inception, Shorooq Partners was built on the principle of being founders’ partners, company builders and value investors.
Shorooq Partners is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE and has offices across KSA, Bahrain, Egypt, and Pakistan.
For more information: hello@shorooq.com; www.shorooq.com
