Udhaar Book Raises Seed Funding for the Digitization of Small Store Registers.

ByFaisal Chughtai | Published date:
udhaar-book-raises-seed-funding-for-the-digitization-of-small-store-registers

(Image credit: udhaar.pk)

Udhaar Book, a Karachi-based company, has won $6 million in venture investment to digitize mom-and-pop shops that formerly operated via handwritten inputs.

Fatima Gobi Ventures, Plaid Co-founder William Hockey's Muir Capital, Tinder Co-founder Justin Mateen's JAM Fund LLC, Integra Partners, and Commerce Ventures LLC are among the investors that participated in the early round, according to Bloomberg.

According to Fahad Kamr, co-founder of Udhaar:

Pakistan is mostly a cash-based economy but startups are looking to change that. The nation is home to as many as 30 million micro-, small- and medium enterprises that operate manually and deal in cash. Many small business owners such as grocery shops are not able to expand since they need to keep an eye on drawer holding all the cash.

"We've barely scratched the surface so obviously expanding the reach of the product is super important at this time" Kamr remarked.

"That's where a lot of the funding will also go," he continued.

Udhaar Book now has 1.4 million members, with more than half of them being active. Users may access its services using a mobile app that is accessible for both Android and iOS. Through its services, the firm claims 100 percent safe, accurate, and accessible means of preserving a record of business transactions. The program may be used to send clients reminders of outstanding dues.

It also generates transaction reports automatically and operates both online and offline to maintain constant operation and automatic data backups to keep data safe and secure. Pakistan has received more than $300 million in startup finance in the current fiscal year, as venture capital and private equity firms increase their investment in the area.

Comment