Pakistan's Tajir raises $17m in Series A round

Pakistan's B2B e-commerce marketplace, Tajir, has raised $17 million in a Series A round led by American venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins, the company announced.

Fatima Gobi Ventures, Y Combinator Continuity Fund, Golden Gate Ventures, AAVCF, Flexport, VentureSouq Liberty City Ventures and other angel investors also participated in this round.

Founded by two brothers, Babar and Ismail Khan, in 2018, Tajir targets small mom and pop stores (locally known as kiryana stores in Pakistan), which struggle to purchase inventory through traditional wholesale channels. The startup has a mobile application through which small kiryana store owners can purchase over 1,000 stock-keeping units including cooking essentials, snacks and biscuits, among others.

Currently, the startup only serves small retailers in Lahore and some other areas in central Punjab. However, Tajir plans on expanding its operations to Karachi using the latest round of investment capital.

Both Babar and Ismail say they want to revamp the grocery segment in Pakistan with a special focus on improving the supply chain operations. Ismail highlighted the potential of Tajir’s target market, saying that 90 percent of Pakistan’s retail economy flows through these mom and pop stores.

In addition, Tajir says it will help increase the income of a kiryana store owner by saving time.

Impressed by the business model, Kleiner Perkins is also looking forward to its first investment in Pakistan. A recent post by the venture capital firm called Tajir the “largest tech-enabled retail network” in the country.

Tajir was the first Pakistani startup funded by Y Combinator, raising $1.8 million a year ago in its seed round.