Zarya raises $1.7 million pre-seed to build a 'Meesho for Pakistan'

Published 01 Nov,2021 via MENAbytes - Lahore-based business-to-business ecommerce platform Zarya has raised $1.7 million in a pre-seed round led by one of MENA’s leading VCs Raed Ventures, with participation from Fatima Gobi Ventures, U.S.-based Class 5 Global, Global Founders Capital. Egyptian social commerce startup Taager that had raised $6.4 million in a seed round earlier this year also joined the round.

Founded by brothers Faisal and Saad Zahid earlier this year, Zarya enables small sellers to source different products, including apparel for women and children, through its platform and sell them in their network. The startup takes care of the entire process, from sourcing products to delivery and payments, and transfer the profit of every seller when a sale is completed.

This concept of social selling was pioneered by Meesho in India and has been adapted by different startups from emerging markets, including Brimore and Taager from Egypt. Started in 2015, Meesho has raised over $1 billion in total financing to date and was valued at close to $5 billion in its most recent funding round.