Pakistani ticketing startup Bookme.pk raises funding

Bookme.pk, an online booking platform for movies, events, and bus services, today announced that it has raised an undisclosed sum of seed investment from Element Ventures. The investment round values the startup at US$4 million.

Bookme.pk began operations in November 2013 and was accepted to be part of the first batch of startups at Lahore-based incubator Plan 9. It was also one of the Startup Arena contest finalists at Startup Asia Jakarta 2014.

Following the funding round, Bookme.pk announced that media mogul Faisal Sherjan would be joining them as director. Faisal was previously a director at Jang Group, a Pakistani conglomerate which has business interests in both print and electronic media.

“Bookme.pk team is super excited at this development. Its great that he [Faisal Sherjan] has decided to invest in and mentor the startup. The whole team welcomes him,” said Faizan Aslam, founder Bookme.pk, in an emailed statement.

Bookme.pk’s funding news comes after a wave of collaborations and partnerships with different companies. Microsoft agreed to pre-install the Bookme.pk app in their Lumia phones marketed in the region, whilst also assisting with marketing and outreach of the service. Furthermore, the startup has partnered with various media outlets – including GEO, HUM TV, and ARY – for promotion of their content.

Bookme.pk Team