Pakistani B2B e-commerce startup Jugnu announced entering into a strategic alliance with its MENA-based counterpart, Sary, which led the $22.5 million Series A round. Existing investors Sarmayacar and Systems Limited also participated in the deal.
“Jugnu has focused on developing strong capabilities and moats in key markets during the last 18 months, leveraging our product-market fit to grow rapidly during this period. This round of investment will enable us to expand our team, ramp up our technological platform, expand product offerings and extend our geographical footprint,” said Sharoon Saleem, Co-founder, and CEO of Jugnu.
As per a company statement, Pakistan has over one million kiryana stores that lack access to convenient inventory procurement as over two-thirds of the retail stores are never serviced directly by any organized distribution channel.
The startup was founded in 2019 and now claims to cover an effective customer base of over 30,000 kiryanas across Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, with expansion to other major cities underway. It also extended its product offering to include buy-now-pay-later.
Commenting on the investment, Mohammed AlDossary, Co-Founder and CEO of Sary said: “In a relatively short period of time, Jugnu is rapidly positioning itself as the platform of choice for kiryanas across Pakistan’s cities, demonstrating strong traction amongst its customers. As they continue to realize the market opportunity Pakistan brings, I look forward to working closely with Jugnu’s leadership to unlock the possibilities of local trade, bridging efficiency gaps in MENAP and beyond.”
Founded in 2018, Sary has raised a total capital of more than $112m including a $75m Series C in December 2021. Since then, it has been actively expanding beyond Saudi Arabia and earlier in March acquired the Egyptian B2B food and grocery marketplace, Morrawid.
Speaking about the alliance with Sary, Jugnu’s Co-Founder and CEO Sharoon Saleem added: “Our new alliance with Sary will be a great boost for Jugnu. We’ve established a foothold in our existing operating cities with a rapidly growing customer base, and Sary will help us accelerate the development of our platform to connect producers and businesses, thereby ensuring SMEs in Pakistan have access to the best, most competitively priced goods at a single tap. Both Sary and Jugnu stand to gain from a MENAP-wide knowledge and talent network, by which employee exchanges will bring our teams closer together, leverage complementary expertise, and build an interdisciplinary skillset needed to create a frictionless B2B eCommerce gateway across the region.”
