Bazaar raises $70 million from Tiger Global & Dragoneer to digitize Pakistan’s retail

Led by Hamza Jawaid and Saad Jangda, Bazaar is B2B e-commerce & fintech startup that is headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. In a Series B round, the startup has managed to raise a whopping total of $70 million led by Dragoneer Investment Group and Tiger Global. This successful investment comes just after 6 months of Bazaar raising $30 million in Series A by existing investors, including Indus Valley Capital. Defy.vc, Acrew Capital, Wavemark Partners, B&Y Venture Partners, and Zayn Capital. The total money raised by the company has now reached $100 million in total making it one of the best-funded startups in the country.

Talking about the success of the seed round the founders said, “We are humbled and excited to continue on the path to creating a generation-defining story for Pakistan. With the significant backing of two of the largest venture growth funds in the world, we believe this will continue to change the narrative of the country and inspire countless more and bigger stories in near future. This is a result of the trust and partnership of our colleagues, suppliers, and most importantly our customers – the small merchants who are the backbone of our economy.”

Founded less than 2 years ago, the startup is building an operating system that will change the face of traditional retail in the country. The current offerings include a B2B marketplace that enables all kinds of retailers like grocery stores to procure inventory for their stores, a merchant software called Easy Khata, and finally, a short-term working capital financing product Bazaar Credit that was launched just recently. Currently, the startup’s marketplace is serving customers in 21 towns and cities of the country with the help of 12+ fulfillment centers. The company is consistently expanding its network by adding 3-4 new cities and towns to its last-mile network every month and is on its way to establishing Pakistan’s largest tech-enabled last-mile footprint by end of 2022 as per their statement.

The newly acquired funds will be used to expand Bazaar’s operations to more cities across the country, launch new marketplace categories and scale its lending offerings and accelerate new product development.