Skip to main content

Pakistan’s GrocerApp secures $1mn seed funding from Jabbar Internet Group, former Amazon executive joins board



Popular online grocery delivery startup GrocerApp has raised $1 million in seed funding from investors that include former Amazon executives and entrepreneurs with a history of high-profile exits in the Middle East, the company has announced in a statement on Saturday.

The round was led by Dubai-based Jabbar Internet Group (www.jabbar.com), the venture capital firm led by founders of one of the Middle East’s largest e-commerce platform Souq.com that was acquired by Amazon in one of the largest transactions in the region in 2017. The GrocerApp investment is the first that Jabbar Internet has made in Pakistan.

Other investors in the round include Asif Keshodia, former Amazon executive for MENA region who has now joined GrocerApp as a board member, Middle East’s Nama Ventures, Nader Group, Karavan Ventures and 7Vals, along with participation from existing shareholders that include Pakistan-based Walled City Co, LeanBricks and Shehryar Ali of Treet Pakistan.

Jabbar founders Samih Toukan and Hussam Khoury had cofounded the aforementioned Souq.com, and had exited from another famous online portal Maktoob, a webmail service with Arabic support for emails, which was acquired by Yahoo in 2009. The latest in this series of high-profile exits is Jabbar Internet’s InstaShop, an online grocery delivery service in the UAE that was acquired by DeliveryHero in a $360 million deal only a few days ago.

Speaking about the recent round, GrocerApp CEO Ahmed Saeed said, ”GrocerApp is equipped with sophisticated technology, smart fulfilment centers and efficient logistics network that makes it the leading e-grocer in Pakistan. With our recent funding injection, we are going to invest more to make our supply chain more efficient, and expand into other cities.”

“Our success in this round is twofold. Asif, Hussam and Samih have shown confidence in GrocerApp and decided to back us, which reinforces our position as a promising e-commerce leader. Secondly, the tons of experience these investors bring will usher in a new era of growth for GrocerApp,” Ahmed said.

“We see great potential in Pakistan for technology businesses. To seize the opportunity, we have made our first investment in Pakistan in GrocerApp because of our confidence in the business and resilience of the cofounders. We are determined to see GrocerApp grow even further, now that the Pakistani market is ripe for a digital revolution,” said Samih Toukan of Jabbar Internet Group.

Commenting on the investment, Asif Keshodia, who also oversaw Souq’s acquisition by Amazon, said: “The size of grocery e-commerce in Pakistan is around $48 billion. It is a huge market with great potential for e-commerce companies to grow. GrocerApp has shown that promise and I am thrilled to become a part of an amazing team that is leading this company. Collectively, the investors bring weights of experience in e-commerce which is going to help the company soar to new heights. It is also going to develop the overall e-commerce market in Pakistan and I look forward to this exciting journey ahead.”

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Peshawar Zalmi Releases "Zalmi Raalal" Official Anthem Powered by TCL

             TCL, Pakistan's No.1 LED TV Brand, in collaboration with Peshawar Zalmi, has released their most awaited anthem for PSL 8, " Zalmi Raalal ". Directed by the maestro Hassan Dawar himself, "Zalmi Raalal" is a star-studded, power-packed amalgamation of music, fashion, and sports, the three foremost passion points of Peshawar Zalmi. Produced by Naughty Boy, who has worked in the global music industry with the likes of Beyoncé, Wiz Khalifa, and Sam Smith, the music video features cricket's biggest superstars Darren Sammy and Babar Azam, as well as Pakistan's biggest celebrities Mahira Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi. Peshawar Zalmi's official anthem for 2023, "Zalmi Raalal", is an ode to passion, a story entailing the beauty and power of the KP region and its people. The anthem has crossed one million views on all online platforms since its release, and the number is increasing fast.   The star-studded and narrative-centric anthem feature...
Post a Comment
Read more

YouTube Partner Program paves new methods for content creators to earn revenue on the platform

             Today YouTube announced the expansion of its monetisation system with   YouTube Partner Program  (YPP). YouTube shared that it is expanding the platform’s monetization system to allow more creators to join the program by new ways for creators to earn revenue through Shorts, and re-imagining the music industry and creator dynamic by opening up ads monetization for those who feature music in their videos. With this new chapter, YouTube  now offers  ways  for over 2M partners to make money. The expansion of the partner program will enable more opportunities for creators and artists on the platform in all types of different creative formats.  Starting from early 2023, Shorts-focused creators can apply to YPP by meeting a threshold of 1K subscribers and 10M Shorts views over 90 days. These new partners will be able to enjoy all the benefits YPP offers, including ads monetization across Shorts and long-form YouTube ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Corporate reporting on sustainability strengthens significantly

ISSB standards to provide consistent global baseline Corporate reporting of sustainability-related information takes a significant step forward with the publication of two ground-breaking global standards.   ACCA welcomes the publication of two standards from ISSB (the International Sustainability Standards Board) IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures.   Helen Brand, ACCA chief executive, said: ‘The launch of these first two global sustainability standards is an important and significant step forward in business reporting, providing a global baseline for comparable information on sustainability issues, which will help investors, financial markets and society more widely. The focus they provide will help drive the positive changes we need in the way businesses operate in the face of the threat from climate change.   ‘ACCA will continue to support the ISSB’s important work. The inf...
Post a Comment
Read more