🎉 Happy New Year
29 Pakistani startups raised $75+ million in disclosed venture capital funding in 2023 across 30 deals.
Compared to 2022, the amount of funding decreased by 77% from $331 million, and the number of deals declined by 29% from 42.
I had to revise the 2022 startup funding because Retailo received $15 million out of $36 million (announced in 2022) in 2023. Previously, I have covered as to why that was the case.
Please note that there were many rounds this year where the startups didn’t want to disclose the round type. To keep things simple, I have defaulted all such deals to seed.
I will share charts and the 2023 analysis round-up (including mine) next month. Meanwhile, check out the list of startups that raised funding, and let me know if I missed a deal where the amount was disclosed.
🐦 Twitter Spaces
2023 was the year that humbled the Pakistani startup ecosystem. Join me and Mutaher Khan as we discuss major news and trends on Twitter Spaces on Monday, January 1, 2024, at 10:00 pm Pakistan time.
💰 December Funding (disclosed)
CodeNinja raised $1.6 million in seed funding from sAi Venture Capital and Plutus21 Capital.
Blink raised $2.1 million in seed funding from SOSV, 500 Global, and Global Founders Capital.
Sehat Kahani raised $2.7 million in Series A funding from Amaanah Circle, Epic Angels, Cross Fund, USAID, Augmentor, Impact Investment Exchange, and the Elahi group of companies.
Kickstart raised $700k (PKR 200 million) from Vital Group.
📰 Learn
There was just one IPO on the PSX during 2023. 5G coming to Pakistan in 2024. Pakistan's most searched topics, according to Google. We asked for PayPal and got the National Space Policy instead. UAE’s e& will buy 100% of Telenor Pakistan. IT exports increased by 9% in November. A decade of unprecedented growth in the fintech landscape.
🧠 Think
The unfazed spirit of Pakistan’s enterprising dreamers. The inside story of digitizing agriculture in Pakistan.
🎙️ Listen
Conversation with Hunain Kapadia, co-founder of Smartbenefits.
📺 Watch
Conversation with Raza Matin, co-founder of Chikoo, and my conversation with Hunain Kapadia, co-founder of Smartbenefits.
Until next month, ✌️