Nuwa Capital has announced its first investment in Pakistan, through its participation in the pre-seed round of B2B fresh produce marketplace Tazah Technologies (Tazah). The round was co-led by Fatima Gobi Ventures (FGV) and Vibe Capital, with participation from Shorooq Partners, Global Founders Capital, Alter Global, Early Grey Capital and Zayn Capital among others. This round brings the total funding raised in pre- seed by the company to $6.5M, and includes participation from Silicon Valley-based angel investors.
Launched in Lahore in August 2021, Tazah is a B2B marketplace that aims to provide access to capital and market to millions of farmers and businesses. The company was founded by ex- Careem executives Abrar Bajwa and Mohsin Zaka, who in founding Tazah have put into practice over 20 years of collective experience in strategy, supply chain, and commercial partnerships to scale their operations and grow to an annualized gross merchandise value of over $7M in under four months of operations. Tazah now operates in Lahore, Karachi, and is aiming to expand to regional agricultural markets.
“Current infrastructure connecting farmers and retailers has glaring inefficiencies for fresh produce in Pakistan and we believe Tazah and the team are building a solution that will drive positive impact into the everyday life of their customers and stakeholders. What Abrar and Mohsin have managed to achieve in the last few months is nothing short of outstanding. Tazah marks our first investment in Pakistan, and we are looking forward to working more closely with founders locally as we become increasingly more active in the country,” said Sarah Abu Risheh, partner at Nuwa Capital.
Tazah has implemented key processes that have a direct positive impact on users, as made clear by industry-leading user retention rates. Since launch, the company has witnessed significant growth in its user base, demonstrating a clear need in the market. The agriculture sector in Pakistan has shown a clear appetite for disruption and contributes c. 20% to the country’s GDP and employees c. 40% of the labor force.
“We are beyond excited to partner with Nuwa Capital on the mission of empowering millions of farmers and businesses. The partners at Nuwa have developed deep insights in the space that we operate in, through their past investments in similar models across the globe and we look forward to leveraging those learnings to leapfrog our journey,” said Bajwa.
Tazah will use the round to further fuel its expansion. The company has recently added two strategic senior hires to the team with Sultan Raja and Umair Majeed having joined as VP Product and VP Operations respectively, and will continue to expand the team in line with Tazah’s rapid growth.
