Abhi Pvt, a Pakistani financial platform, announced the completion of a $17 million Series A fund-raising round on Tuesday. Salaried employees can access monies before payday thanks to the Karachi-based firm.
According to a statement from the company, the fundraising round was headed by multinational venture capital (VC) firm Speedinvest and supported by Global Ventures, VentureSouq, VEF, Sturgeon Capital, Rallycap, and FJ Labs. Regional VC firms and existing investors, Fatima Gobi, Sarmayacar, and i2i Ventures, were also present.
Omair Ansari and Ali Ladhubhai launched the company in 2021, and it plans to use the new capital to expand its operations and workforce, as well as fulfil growing client demand. Through its web and mobile app, the company aspires to become the first financial wellness platform by transforming how people spend their money.
Vostok Emerging Finance led a $2 million seed investment in the startup in June 2021. It later announced, just months after launching its business, that it had raised funding again, this time at a $40 million valuation. The total amount of money raised in this round was kept under wraps.
Employees of Abhi’s partners will be able to take pay advances based on their accrued wages at any moment. Because the fintech will fund these advances, they will have no impact on the financial sheets of partner companies, and repayments will be deducted from the employee’s income.
A registered user can access funds via the app in less than 30 seconds and two clicks, according to the business, with a fixed transaction cost of 2%. The payments are withdrawn from your next paycheck automatically.
Meanwhile, the firm claims to be cash flow positive, with Total Payment Values Processed rising from $2 million in November 2021 to $46 million in February 2022.
“We are thrilled to announce this $17 million funding round, especially given the caliber of investors involved… the proceeds will support our exponential growth and help us meet customer demand,” stated CEO Omair Ansari.
“Abhi’s unique insight and payroll integration perfectly position them to build effective financial services both for employers and employees alike,” said Stefan Klestil, General Partner at Speedinvest. Abhi has the potential to affect millions of lives across MENA and South Asia, thanks to Omair and Ali’s leadership.”
