Krave Mart, a grocery delivery startup, has raised Pakistan’s third-largest funding round for the year, reported Bloomberg on Saturday.
The Karachi-based rapid grocery delivery company raised the $6.25 million round over the past year, Kassim Shroff, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Krave Mart, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.
The company said the funds will help the startup reach profitability in 2024.
As per the report, investors participating in the funding included Y Combinator, football manager and former player Keisuke Honda, JAM Fund, Rebel Fund, Decart Ventures as well as existing backers including Conjunction Capital and Zayn Capital.
The development comes at a time when funding in Pakistan’s startup scene has dried up owing to high-interest rates and uncertainty due to the global economic outlook.
Bloomberg, citing data from Data Darbar, said that funding dropped by about 90% in Pakistan in the third quarter of 2023.
Shroff told that his startup, which delivers thousands of orders a day, has launched multiple private label products from bread to handwash to boost its profit margins.
“Its earnings before some costs as a percentage of sales are topping those enjoyed by some Indian grocery startups with unicorn valuations,” he said.
Pakistan’s startup ecosystem
The progress of Pakistan’s startup landscape, which rejoiced at a record-breaking 2021, has slowly been pushed away from headlines as fundraising dropped and replaced with news of shutdowns and cut-back in operations.
During the April-June 2023 quarter, Pakistan startups attracted a meagre $5.2 million, a year-on-year decline of 95%. The amount is also 77.5% lower on a quarterly basis, indicating the massive volatility in Pakistan’s ability to attract investors.
However, in a recent interview, Pakistan’s caretaker IT minister Dr Umar Saif vowed to help the country attract funding with the launch of the ‘Pakistan Startup Fund’.