Saudi Arabia-based Derayah Venture Capital has invested in Pakistan-based business to business (B2B) e-commerce platform Bazaar’s $6.5 million seed round, co-led by Global Founders Capital and Indus Valley Capital. Other participant investors include S7V, Wavemaker Partners, Next Billion Ventures and existing investor Alter Global.

The fresh round takes the startup’s total funding to $7.8 million. Since its launch in 2020, Bazaar has served over 10,000 retailers in Karachi and has a catalogue of over 500 SKUs on its platform.

Founded by Saad Jangda and Hamza Jawaid, Bazaar enables small grocery stores to purchase directly from manufacturers, wholesalers, and suppliers. Bazaar’s existing board includes a group of angel investors as well as founders of other B2B startups such as Maxab (Egypt), Ula (Indonesia), and Sokowatch (Africa).

It plans to use the capital to expand its footprint across Pakistan, build its product capabilities, and offer more value-added services to its customers.

“As the fifth largest country in the world with rising digital adoption, we have an incredible opportunity to empower micro-businesses through technology. Over 80 per cent  of our customers own and operate smartphones, yet their way of running a business has not changed, until now. By bringing them online, we can meaningfully improve their business and their lives, freeing up time to focus on the most important tasks, eventually enabling greater returns,” said Hamza Jawaid, co-founder of Bazaar.

Saad Jangda, co-founder of Bazaar said: “At Bazaar, we believe that building the technology layer for traditional commerce is a massive opportunity. With the sheer size of the Pakistani market, a new narrative and spotlight on our ecosystem, and an abundance of Pakistanis moving back home, we finally have all the right fundamentals to build massive tech institutions. We have been blown away by our early team and humbled by the roster of investors who are supporting us on this journey. It is further validation of the sheer yet untapped potential of tech in our country.”