Pakistan’s fintech Oraan has raised $3 million in the largest seed funding closed by a local women-led startup, announced the company on Monday, reports BC
The financing round was co-led by Zayn Capital and Wavemaker Partners, with participation from Resolution Ventures, i2i Ventures, Hustle Fund, Haitou Global, Plug and Play, and notable angels like Claire Diaz-Ortiz, a former partner at Magma Partners, who has also come on board as an advisor to the company.
Previously, Oraan, which has positioned itself as Pakistan’s first gender-inclusive fintech, raised financing from Tharros, Zayn Capital, an angel syndicate led by Google executives, and Graph Ventures, bringing its total funding raised to just over $4 million.
The latest round of funding will be used to accelerate Oraan’s expansion into other products with its user base.
An interview with the co-founders of Oraan Tech Pvt. Ltd.
Founded in 2018 by Halima Iqbal, a former investment banker, Oraan designs products and services around credit, insurance, and savings in Pakistan – home to 5% of the world’s unbanked female population.
“Oraan was founded when we realised that the large majority of the Pakistani population struggles to access financial services simply because they are not designed for them,” said Halima Iqbal, CEO and founder at Oraan, in a statement.
“While there is a demand among women for credit, insurance and savings services, they are unable to approach financial institutions due to mistrust, complexity of products and challenges around mobility.”
