Peter Thiel backs PriceOye in maiden Pakistan investment – TechCrunch
Summary
This is Thiels maiden investment in Pakistan.PriceOye has served 45 million unique users in Pakistan in the last two years, covering 37.5% of the countrys total internet user base, Adnan Shaffi, co-founder and CEO of the startup, told TechCrunch in an interview.We are the second most visited shopping website in the entire country, with over two and a half million monthly active users coming on the platform, doing research using our product recommendation engine, and then getting to know about different products, he said.After exiting two startups, Adan and his brother Adeel Shaffi got the idea of launching PriceOye when they were doing a lot of island hopping in Southeast Asia. The duo looked at several startups in Indonesia and India and found the Asian markets were seeing similar consumer internet trends play out just at a different pace. The startup also claims to sell four smartphones to a single user per year on an average.It is the largest online platform for selling mobile phones and accessories in Pakistan, claimed Adnan, adding that 35% of its overall orders come from tier-two and tier-three cities across the country.Within a short period of time, PriceOye has grown exponentially and has cemented its position as the leading national company in online consumer electronics. We are excited to join PriceOye in its mission towards changing the way people shop in Pakistan, said Mantis VC founder and partner Alex Pall, in a prepared statement.PriceOye is looking to deploy the fresh funding to expand its 97-member team by hiring new talent. I was inspired by the vision of PriceOye founders Adnan and Adeel of creating transparency and bringing convenience to customers when it comes to shopping for consumer electronics, said Seamon Chan, managing partner of Palm Drive Capital, in a statement.