Adding another feather in the cap to Pakistan’s budding startup scene, a Lahore-based fashion e-commerce platform Clicky has managed to raise $2.4 million in pre-Series A round.
The round was led by early-stage investors in UAE and Pakistan, including Tricap Investments, Asif Keshodia, UAE-based CSHL and a few other angel investors in the UAE, read a statement.
The latest investment adds up to the previous funding of $700,000 raised by the startup in December 2020.
Founded in 2016 by Muhammad Khalid and Syed Shahzad, Clicky offers trending fast fashion products with a focus on apparel, footwear, and accessories and has attracted investors such as Fatima Ventures and Souq - acquired by Amazon in 2017 – to invest in earlier rounds of the startup.
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Since its inception, the startup has witnessed a growth of over 20% month-on-month and has grown the business four times in less than a year, a growth driven by their private labels and curated fashion retailers, according to the company.
With this new funding, Clicky aims to scale these labels by working tightly with manufacturers and fashion designers.
In a bid to tap into the emerging fashion market of Pakistan, Clicky will be introducing more categories, adding 3000-5000 new SKUs [Stock-keeping unit] per month.
The startup has also utilized a part of its earlier investment to set up and improve its fulfilment centres across Pakistan. Currently, Clicky has a warehouse fulfillment centre of 25,000 sq ft, one of the largest in the country.
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Sharing the vision for the next lap, both Khalid and Shahzad said, "Our investors have shown great confidence in us and the Pakistani e-commerce landscape. We are tapping a massive opportunity in fashion retail, and are excited to support local manufacturers for our private labels and also introduce international brands to provide a high-quality experience to our customers.
“We believe things have moved from fast fashion to ultra-fast fashion. Therefore, we are aiming to empower local manufacturers, designers, and third-party labels with the necessary technology and working capital support to capture this massive potential.”
Asif Keshodia, former CFO of Souq.com and an early backer of Clicky said, “The Clicky team has proven that they have a high level of commitment and the resilience necessary to build a leading e-commerce destination for fashion and apparel in Pakistan.”
Keshodia was of the view that Clicky’s supply chain and sourcing model, which is predominantly local, is a unique point for customers.
Pakistani startups have witnessed a renaissance of sorts in 2021, with multiple companies fetching multi-million dollars from both local and international investors.
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Last month, Udhaar Book, a Karachi-based cashflow management services provider raised $6 million in early funding.
In the first nine months of the ongoing year, Pakistan's startups raised a record amount of funds at over $305 million, according to data compiled by Karachi-based Alpha Beta Core (ABCore), an early-stage tech-based investment firm.
The amount is over 1.5 times higher than the previous six years combined with investments focused on early-stage funding rounds, pointing to the growth potential, say experts.
This article was first published in Business Recorder on Dec 8, 2021.
