Qist Bazaar raises $3.2 million to accelerate BNPL adoption in Pakistan

Pakistan’s top Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) platform Qist Bazaar has raised $3.2 million in a Series A fundraising round, it announced on Tuesday.

The round was led by Indus Valley Capital with cooperation from Asia's renowned venture capital company Gobi Partners. One of Pakistan's biggest commercial banks — Bank Alfalah — emerged as an inaugural investor. This marks the first instance of a foreign venture capital fund partnering with a commercial bank to finance a fintech startup, according to a press release issued by the company.

Qist Bazaar provides installment-based payment solutions for underbanked and unbanked segments, enabling them to affordably buy basic necessities such as household appliances and cell phones with manageable monthly payments regardless of their financial history.

Licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) as a Non-bank Financial Company (NBFC), Qist Bazaar has already disbursed 55,000 loans worth $12m in three years. The company has developed a hybrid scoring model that combines traditional and alternative methods to evaluate creditworthiness, facilitating participation for unbanked consumers.

Founder and Managing Partner of Indus Valley Capital Aatif Awan said, "We see enormous potential in Qist Bazaar's ability to fundamentally reshape how consumer financing is done in Pakistan, similar to what Bajaj Finance did for India. What excites us here is not just the market opportunity but Qist Bazaar's impact on the everyday lives of millions of Pakistanis."

Naiel Ikram, General Partner for Gobi Partners' Pakistan-focused fund stated, "The founders' deep experience in the BNPL space, combined with their nuanced understanding of their target customers behavior, reminds us of some of the most successful founders we've backed across Asia. With a clear path to scale by serving historically underserved users in Pakistan, Qist Bazaar is well-positioned to replicate the growth stories we've witnessed across the region.”

The company plans to expand its product portfolio and capacity in Karachi and Lahore and develop a presence in Islamabad, Sukkur, Faisalabad and Multan. New product categories are also being launched, including solar power generators.