Adding another feather in the cap to Pakistan’s blossoming startup ecosystem, a Lahore-based apparel e-commerce platform Clicky has managed to attract $2.4 million in pre-Series A investment.
The financing was headed by early-stage investors in UAE and Pakistan, including Tricap Investments, Asif Keshodia, UAE-based CSHL and a few additional angel investors in the UAE, read a statement.
The latest investment adds up to the prior capital of $700,000 secured by the business in December 2020.
Founded in 2016 by Muhammad Khalid and Syed Shahzad, Clicky offers trending fast fashion products with an emphasis on garments, footwear, and accessories and has attracted investors such as Fatima Ventures and Souq – bought by Amazon in 2017 — to invest in earlier rounds of the firm.
Since its debut, the startup has observed a growth of over 20 percent month-on-month and has grown the business four times in less than a year, a growth fueled by their private labels and curated fashion shops.
With this fresh finance, Clicky hopes to scale these labels by working tightly with manufacturers and fashion designers.
In an effort to get into the expanding fashion industry of Pakistan, Clicky will be releasing more categories, adding 3000-5000 new SKUs [Stock-keeping unit] per month.
The business has also employed a part of its prior financing to set up and improve its fulfilment hubs across Pakistan. Currently, Clicky has a warehouse fulfillment centre of 25,000 sq ft, one of the largest in the country.
Sharing the vision for the next lap, both Khalid and Shahzad remarked, “Our investors have showed great trust in us and the Pakistani e-commerce landscape. We are tapping a big opportunity in fashion retail, and are delighted to assist local manufacturers for our private labels and also introduce worldwide names to deliver a high-quality experience to our customers.
“We believe things have progressed from quick fashion to ultra-rapid fashion. Therefore, we are striving to empower local manufacturers, designers, and third-party brands with the required technology and working capital support to realize this huge potential.”
Asif Keshodia, former CFO of Souq.com and an early backer of Clicky said, “The Clicky team has demonstrated that they have a high level of commitment and the resilience essential to develop a major e-commerce destination for fashion and apparel in Pakistan.”
Keshodia was of the view that Clicky’s supply chain and sourcing methodology, which is largely local, is a unique point for customers.
Pakistani businesses have enjoyed a resurgence of sorts in 2021, with many companies getting multi-million dollars from both local and foreign investors.
Last month, Udhaar Book, a Karachi-based cashflow management services provider raised $6 million in early fundraising.
In the first nine months of the ongoing year, Pakistan’s startups raised a record amount of capital at over $305 million, according to data collated by Karachi-based Alpha Beta Core (ABCore), an early-stage tech-based investment firm.