Founded in 2016 by Saad Idrees and Ahmad Habib, the Lahori start-up Daftarkhwan has reinvented the working environment. Daftarkhwan is a coworking space for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and new businesses, offering them all the facilities required to conduct smooth and successful business operations. These include workstations, Wi-Fi, electricity, and air conditioning.
Daftarkhwan’s Phase 5, DHA Lahore location boasts an impressive 15,000 square footage with 37 team rooms designed to accommodate teams ranging from two to nine members. From a vast coworking hall with 38 workstations to three meeting rooms, a spacious conference room, and numerous huddle rooms and discussion pods, Daftarkhwan provides all that a productive work environment needs.
Daftarkhwan initially began operations in Lahore. However, it soon expanded to Islamabad and Rawalpindi, boasting a total of five locations spanning over 78,000 sq. ft. The Covid pandemic significantly increased Daftarkhwan’s popularity. The pandemic prompted many companies to go remote. Although working from home has its benefits, it can be hard to concentrate as the work environment is very different from an office setting. Therefore, the demand for an affordable coworking space increased. With DaftarKhwan, people get the infrastructure of an office plus a chance to meet new people, share ideas, and do networking.
According to details, since the pandemic, Daftarkhwan has grown five times. It now hosts more than 1,650 individuals across its five prime locations daily. Owing to its success, Daftarkhwan plans to double in size and will host more than 3,000 individuals across its facilities nationwide by the third quarter of 2022.
EMPG invests in Daftarkhwan
Daftarkhwan has raised seed funding from regional giant Emerging Market Property Group (EMPG) as a testament to its promising future.
The UAE-based marketplace operator EMPG has invested an undisclosed amount in Daftarkhwan. EMPG owns and operates a staggering ten brands across 16 countries in the property and classified spaces and reached unicorn status in 2020. In Pakistan, EMPG leads the market with Zameen.com, Zameen Developments, OLX, and Lamudi. pk. According to data as of December 2021 by Forbes, EMPG is valued at over $1 billion.
Founded in 2015, EMPG joined the unicorn club after merging with the OLX group. EMPG and OLX announced the merger on April 29, 2020, in Pakistan, the UAE, Egypt, and Lebanon.
“One of the key drivers of EMPG’s own success has been its investment in the right people above all else, and the team at the helm of Daftarkhwan are some of the most hard-working, ambitious and dedicated people in Pakistan’s start-up ecosystem,” – CEO and Co-Founder EMPG Imran Ali Khan.
This is the second round of investment raised by the Lahore-based start-up after angel investment from Walled City Co. in 2018.
Read more: Coworking startup Daftarkhwan raises seed funding from classified unicorn EMPG
Daftarkhwan’s success
Daftarkhwan has served more than 100 organizations in Pakistan in its five years of operation. Over the years, Daftarkhwan has been a core driver of the start-up ecosystems of Lahore and has seen such stellar member companies as Airlift, Jugnu, Unlayer, and Careem, among many others. The superstar Pakistani and regional start-ups currently operating out of Daftarkhwan have raised $570 million in investments in 2021 alone.