Pakistani ecommerce enabler bags seed funding

Brandverse, a Pakistan-based ecommerce enabler, has raised a “multimillion-dollar” seed round led by the JS Group. Regional family offices, seed investors, and operator angels also joined the fundraise.

The startup has also appointed a co-founder and managing director: Faizan Siddiqi, the former COO of Karachi-based logistics operator TCS Holdings.

Brandverse co-founders Faizan Siddiqi (left) and Raza Matin / Photo credit: Brandverse

In addition, Brandverse has launched Chikoo, a mobile app that enables local businesses to open a digital store. Chikoo is now available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Founded in 2018 by former Google consultant Raza Matin, Brandverse is looking to tap Pakistan’s fragmented retail market by focusing on small businesses.

The country’s retailers face problems such as how to classify products and inventory as well as how to expand their reach via internet. Brandverse’s Chikoo is designed to address these issues by helping retailers leverage payment and logistics solutions as well as connect with  new users.

The startup claims that through Chikoo, retailers can be be “online and ready to go” in less than a minute and sell their existing in-store inventory. This feature is also supported by Brandverse’s product data engine.

Following the fundraising, the company aims to scale the Chikoo platform by transitioning it into a seller-focused super app and an operating system for small businesses that offers digital payments, marketing, invoicing, loan management, accounting, and supply chain finance, among other solutions.

“We knew we would witness massive adoption of the internet and technology by Pakistani small businesses and founded Brandverse because we wanted to play our part in redefining the nation’s growth story through this transformation,” Matin said in a statement.