Women-focused Pakistani fintech firm Oraan has raised $3 million in seed funding, the company announced : In order to become a truly gender...

 Women-focused Pakistani fintech firm Oraan has raised $3 million in seed funding, the company announced :

In order to become a truly gender-inclusive neobank, the women-founded and -led firm offers savings, credit, and insurance products.

Pakistan's first gender-inclusive fintech business Oraan claims to have raised $3 million in seed capital, the largest amount ever raised by a locally formed and led startup run by women.

In an announcement, Zayn Capital and Wavemaker Partners co-led the financing round, which included Resolution Ventures, i2i Ventures, Hustle Fund, Haitou Global and Plug and Play. Other investors included:

Also taking part in the round were renowned angels like Claire Diaz-Ortiz, former partner at Magma Partners and current advisor to the business as a whole.

A total of little over $4 million in finance has been raised by Oraan thanks to investments from Tharros, which had previously invested in Bykea and Zayn Capital, a syndicate of angel investors founded by Google personnel.

With a focus on gender-specific innovation, Halima Iqbal, a former investment banker, and Farwah Tapal, a design strategist, Oraan launched in Pakistan in 2018 with credit, insurance, and savings products and services.

In a press release, Halima Iqbal, CEO and creator of Oraan, said, "We started Oraan when we realised that the vast majority of Pakistani citizens struggle to access financial services simply because they are not built for them.

"While women have a need for credit, insurance, and savings services, they are unable to approach financial institutions because of mistrust, product complexity, and mobility issues."

When it comes to collective saving and borrowing, Rotating Saving and Credit Associations ('ROSCAs') are a tried-and-true system that's been around for centuries. 41% of Pakistan's population uses ROSCAs, which are known as committees in that country. ROSCAs rotate up to $5 billion in assets each year.

Users of the Oraan app can join committees that best suit their interests and save money with others from all over the world.

To date, Oraan claims to have a community of over 10,000 savers, 84% of whom are women, spread over more than one hundred and seventy Pakistani towns and villages. According to the startup, demand for committees is growing 28% month over month.

As Halima said to Profit, the goal is "to use savings as an entry point to service women and construct a really gender-centric product"

For example, women use Oraan Committees to save, take out loans, save savings for unexpected expenses, and pay for educational and medical expenses.

The Zayn Capital managing partner Faisal Chowdry adds, "Having been working with Oraan since early 2020, we are thrilled to co-lead Oraan's latest fundraising round to help propagate indigenous finance throughout Pakistan and the region."

When it comes to Pakistan's fintech opportunities, we believe that digitization of local financial solutions and behaviour is the key to opening the door. It also aligns with our company's values to be a part of the storey of Pakistan's only women-led and created fintech, which aims to empower the women who control the household's finances.

When you consider that half of Pakistan's 200 million people are female, it's shocking to learn that only 7% of them have bank accounts. This reveals a major gender disparity when it comes to banking access, according to Wavemaker Partners general partner Gavin Lee.

"One of the most important methods to encourage sustainable economic growth in Pakistan is to build a female-friendly financial product that helps women access the banking system and in turn allows them to access credit, insurance, and investment."

Because of Oraan's large and loyal customer base, the latest amount of money will be put to good use, according to the fintech company.