Pakistan-based Tazah secures $6.5 million in pre-seed funding for its business-to-business fresh produce platform
In the heart of Pakistan, a digital business-to-business (B2B) marketplace named Tazah is making waves in the agricultural sector. The Lahore-based startup, founded earlier this year by former Careem (Pakistan) executives Abrar Bajwah and Mohsin Zaka, aims to digitize the agriculture value chain by connecting farmers, suppliers, and retailers.
Tazah recently secured $4.5 million in an extension of its pre-seed funding round, a testament to investor confidence in its innovative business model targeting Pakistan's agriculture sector. The round was co-led by Pakistan-based Fatima Gobi Ventures and Ankur Nagpal's Vibe Capital.
The startup aspires to empower all players in the agricultural supply chain through technology, improving access, transparency, and efficiency for fresh produce commerce in Pakistan. Although detailed future plans are not explicitly outlined, the substantial pre-seed extension capital suggests Tazah intends to expand its platform, scale operations, and further digitize the fresh produce marketplace to serve the growing demand for quality and hygiene in food products.
Tazah's marketplace enables businesses, primarily micro retailers (street vendors), to procure fresh produce. The startup sources the produce directly from farmers, sorts and grades it at its warehouses, and then ships it to the street vendors. The company claims to have grown significantly since its launch four months ago, with an annualized GMV of $7 million and thousands of customers in Lahore and Karachi, where it recently expanded.
Participation in the round also came from UAE's Shorooq Partners and Nuwa Capital, Russia's Ru-net, US-based Alter Global, Julian.Capital, Kinnow Capital, Early Grey Capital, K3 Fund, and several angel investors, including Sahil Bloom, Siqi Chen, and Matt Brezina.
Fatima Gobi Ventures' investment in Tazah provides the company with a strategic partner in Fatima Group, one of the largest players in Pakistan's agricultural sector, with interests in the fertilizer and sugar industry. Ali Mukhtar, General Partner for Fatima Gobi Ventures, believes that Tazah is revolutionizing Pakistan's agricultural sector.
Vibe Capital is excited about the potential for Tazah to build additional products, particularly financial products, for the market. Ankur Nagpal, founder of Vibe Capital, stated that Tazah streamlines an inefficient supply chain and is growing rapidly. He also mentioned that Tazah is in a good position to start extending lines of credit to business buyers.
Tazah's ambition is to build a digital, forward-looking Pakistan by building a suite of products that solve inefficiencies in the food and agri supply chain of Pakistan and improve the lives of all stakeholders, especially farmers. The latest investment round, totalling $6.5 million, is the largest pre-seed round in Pakistan to date.
In summary, Tazah is a digital B2B marketplace for fresh produce in Pakistan, focusing on agricultural digitization and supply chain empowerment. With its recent funding, the startup is poised to expand its platform, scale operations, and further digitize the fresh produce marketplace to better serve Pakistani farmers and retailers in fresh produce trade, aligning with industry trends toward freshness and quality in food products.
Tazah's ambitious plans involve utilizing technology to not only digitize the agricultural supply chain but also develop financial products for the market, demonstrating an interest in further investing in economic sectors. The startup's successful $6.5 million pre-seed funding round, led by Fatima Gobi Ventures and Vibe Capital, will enable Tazah to scale operations, expand its platform, and potentially offer credit lines to business buyers, thereby revolutionizing the agricultural sector in Pakistan.
