Dubai-based Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) has participated in Pakistan-based on-demand logistics and transport startup Bykea’s $13 million series B round. This is the second time the venture capital firm has invested in the startup. 

This round was led by Prosus Ventures (formerly Naspers Ventures) and saw participation from Pakistan’s Sarmayacar. It takes the total investment raised by the startup to $22 million. 

Co-founded in 2017 by Muneeb Maayr and Abdul Mannan, Ishaq Kothawala and Rafiq Malik, Bykea is a super app that offers on-demand motor-cycle ride-hailing along with courier delivery and payment services. With 17 million two-wheelers in Pakistan, which is four times the number of cars in the country, Bykea provides millions of people an opportunity to increase their income by tapping into the sectors of transport and logistics.

“Bykea is one of the few internet businesses offering an interface in the Urdu language and we drive our competitive advantage from being highly localised. This approach has helped us become the preferred partner for part-time motorbike gig workers. Our brand is now widely used as a verb for bike taxi and 30-minute deliveries, and the fresh capital allows us to expand our network to solidify our leading position” said Muneeb Maayr, founder at Bykea.

Currently, the startup operates in three cities in Karachi, Rawalpindi, and Lahore, where it targets a combined population of 30 million people. The fresh funds will be used to expand to other cities. Bykea further plans to invest in its platform to enable cross-utilisation of its 30,000 fleet of drivers in e-commerce logistics, food and payment services in 2021.

“Pakistan is primed to experience extremely strong growth in internet services over the next decade, with a rapidly increasing middle class. This growth provides immense opportunity for companies like Bykea that are transforming big societal needs like transportation, logistics and payments through a technology-enabled platform. Bykea has already seen impressive traction in the country and with our investment will be able to execute further on their vision to become Pakistan’s super app,” said Fahd Beg, chief investment officer at Prosus.