On Tuesday, it was revealed that PriceOye.pk, a marketplace in Pakistan, had secured $7.9 million in a seed fundraising round led by the US-based JAM Fund.
Furthermore, it attracted several unicorn entrepreneurs to its cap table, including PayPal and Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel, who made his first investment in Pakistan.
In addition to Fatima Gobi Ventures, SOSV, and Artistic Ventures, the seed funding round included Beenext, an early investor in Indonesian e-commerce platform Tokopedia; DG Daiwa; Mantis VC; HOF Capital; Jet.com investor Palm Drive Capital; Atlas Ventures; Immad Akhud of Mercury Bank; and Asif Keshodia of Souq.
PriceOye is a curated online electronics store that provides buyers with suggestions based on their specific needs. In a news release, PriceOye.pk claimed that its product suggestion engine was responsible for attracting more than two million unique users per month.
Adnan Shaffi and Adeel Shaffi, the company’s co-founders, claim to have increased income by 500% in their first year of operation, and they intend to keep the momentum going by introducing additional features and categories to their platform and enlarging their network of business partners.
Most Pakistani consumers have a negative shopping experience due to the prevalence of fake goods and pricing differences when purchasing consumer electronics in the country. Adnan Shaffi, co-founder and CEO of PriceOye, was quoted in the announcement as saying, “PriceOye’s managed marketplace not only enables access to authentic products at excellent rates but also helps users make smarter shopping selections through its recommendations system.”
Because of this, PriceOye has the best net promoter score (a metric of how satisfied customers feel about their whole purchasing experience) because it was created with the customer’s needs in mind. He also noted the company’s eagerness to work with new investors who have shown faith in its future expansion plans.
The founder and partner of Mantis VC, Alex Pall, said, “Within a short period, PriceOye has developed dramatically and has solidified its place as the leading national company in online consumer electronics. We’re thrilled to be working with PriceOye to revolutionize shopping in Pakistan.
It’s always a difficult option for buyers to spend huge money on high-value products while doubtful of their legitimacy,” said Seamon Chan, managing partner of Palm Drive Capital, which has supported e-commerce unicorn Jet.com. The mission of PriceOye’s creators, Adnan and Adeel, to make purchasing consumer electronics more transparent and hassle-free, was an inspiration to me.
The press release claims that unlike in the United States and India, Pakistan does not have a nationwide chain of specialized electronics stores like BestBuy or Croma. About half of all consumer electronics sold in the United States are purchased online, but in the offline-dominated Pakistani industry, the purchasing experience for buyers is disjointed.
The report also noted that between 2016 and 2020, the consumer electronics market in Pakistan grew at a CAGR of 7.1%, reaching a total market size of $8.5 billion by 2020.
