In a major win for Pakistan, a Karachi-based agritech startup called Farmdar raised $1.3 million in seed funding. This is welcoming news as such startups can help revolutionize Pakistan’s agricultural sector.
The round has been led by Indus Valley Capital with participation by strategic investors from Pakistan, the Middle East, and US, including Deosai Ventures, Tricap Investments, United Distributors Pakistan Limited, The Community Fund VC, LMKR and K2 Global Ventures.
Founded in 2021 by Muhammed Bukhari, Muzaffar Manghi, and Ibrahim Bokhari, Farmdar can help farmers and businesses access accurate and actionable data based on high-resolution multi-band satellite imagery.
Read more: Pakistani startup “Oware” raises $3.3 million
To clarify, food safety is adversely affected by the overuse of fertilizers. When this is combined with inaccurate yield estimates and inadequate harvest monitoring, the output is highly inefficient. Farmdar wants to help solve this problem for farmers using satellite imagery and data.
“Pakistan is amongst the top 10 producers in the world for essential crops such as sugarcane, wheat, and rice, yet in terms of yield, we rank 50th or below. It’s a massive yield gap. Farmdar is uniquely positioned to help increase yield and quality while reducing farming costs and minimizing waste,” claimed Muzaffar Manghi, one of the co-founders.
Farmdar, a Pakistan based agritech raises $1.3 million in a Seed round https://t.co/1q0HHaqtcQ
— TechJuice (@TechJuicePk) June 7, 2022
Pakistani startups making it big
Pakistan is seeing a rush of investors eager to back startups in the world’s fifth-largest nation, one of the last large untapped markets. A flurry of fintech is emerging in Pakistan, which has the world’s third-largest unbanked population, according to the World Bank.
Back in April, Pakistani startups have raised over $200 million in funds. The country’s startups raised a record over $350 million in 2021. From 2015 to 2022 YTD, Pakistani startups have raised a total of $728 million across 272 deals.
Read more: Pakistan’s startups raise $163m in 3 months
The initiatives of tech startups largely help the country improve its economy through employment and job opportunities.