Sequoia enters Pakistan with investment in fintech Dbank – TechCrunch
Summary
Sequoia, the worlds most influential venture fund, has made its maiden investment in Pakistan, joining a growing list of high profile investors who have backed young firms in the South Asian market in the past one year.Islamabad-headquartered startup Dbank said on Thursday it has raised $17.6 million in a seed round, the largest in Pakistan, co-led by Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia, the recently unveiled $1 billion fund, and Kleiner Perkins. Brazils neobank Nubank, Askari Bank, Rayn also participated in the round, the Pakistani startup said.Dbank is a fintech startup that will attempt to expand the reach of financial services in a transparent and friendly manner in Pakistan, taking on the informal credit system that tends to exploit those in need with exorbitant and unpredictable interest rates, said Tania Aidrus, co-founder of Dbank, in an interview with TechCrunch.Johan Surani, VP at Sequoia Southeast Asia, said in a statement that Dbank will attempt to democratize banking, however the startup wishes to keep its roadmap under wraps for now, Aidrus said.Nearly half of the population of Pakistan, home to over 220 million people, currently dont have bank accounts. Dbank has applied to become a digital retail bank in Pakistan.The reason it is the perfect time to launch a venture like Dbank is that the key building blocks are now in place Raast, the real-time payment system by State Bank of Pakistan supported by seamless digital identity through NADRA. Airlift, one of Pakistans most celebrated startups, recently announced it was shutting down following funding crunch.Pakistan, the worlds fifth most populous nation, has a fast-growing middle class with increasingly sophisticated banking needs. Dbank is addressing this by taking a digital-native approach to democratize banking and make a broad set of financial services friendly, transparent and thus, accessible for the entire nation.