SadaPay, a Pakistani fintech startup, has received more money after getting full operational permission, allowing it to reach millions of new clients.
The Islamabad-based company got $10.7 million in a seed-extension round, according to Chief Executive Officer Brandon Timinsky.
The news of the financing comes only one day after the central bank gave it licence to offer financial services through its smartphone app.
The world’s fifth-largest country is seeing an influx of investors eager to support entrepreneurs, making it one of the last great untapped markets.
Pakistan has the world’s third-largest unbanked population, according to the World Bank, and a flurry of fintech is growing.
When Timinsky first visited Pakistan, he saw “a vast population of young people with cellphones, strong cellular-broadband penetration, lethargic incumbent banks, and substantial policy reform by the government to assist digitalization.”
Timinsky, a 31-year-old American entrepreneur, moved to Asia after a previous business was purchased in the United States to seek new opportunities.
The fintech began operating in a test mode with a cap of 10,000 users before acquiring an Electronic Money Institution licence from the State Bank of Pakistan on Monday.
Unlike traditional banks, Sadapay allows customers to make three free cash withdrawals each month, provides a 24-hour in-app chat support, and can open an account in less than two minutes.
Despite the fact that digital payments have surged in Pakistan as a result of the pandemic, just 1% of Pakistan’s almost $4 trillion in payments are made digitally.
SadaPay is anticipated to be the world’s fastest-growing mobile wallet in the five years running up to 2025, according to research provided last year by London-based fintech company Boku Inc. Careem Inc., an Uber subsidiary, has decided to invest $50 million in the country and get a similar licence.
SadaPay’s investors, including Recharge Capital, Kingsway Capital, and Raptor Group, have raised their stakes. The company intends to have more than quadrupled its personnel to over 250 by the end of the year.
To read our blog on “SadaPay Gets SBP Approval to Launch E-Money Institution In Pakistan,” click here.
