OneLoad, a micro-retailer-focused fintech company in Pakistan, has secured $11 million to support a growth phase as it aims to reach the third-largest unbanked population in the world.
The largest non-banking digital transaction platform in Pakistan, OneLoad’s android app serves several million users each month and is primarily utilized by small retailers. To provide services like payments, cash deposits, and lending, it collaborates with banks and telecom firms.
“The company aspires to become “the greatest banking platform in the nation for the unbanked world, the financially excluded market. Without having a branch, the goal is to become the biggest micro branch for the unbanked.”, said Muhammad Yar Hiraj, founder and CEO of OneLoad.
The startup completed nearly $100 million in transactions through its 40,000 agents last year. According to Hiraj, the company hopes to grow daily transactions from their present range of up to 400,000 to one million.
Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world, gained attention last year when a record startup investment of nearly $350 million was given to the country. A flurry of fintech is sprouting in the nation, which, according to the World Bank, has 110 million adult unbanked citizens, placing it third behind China and India.
In contrast to most of its rivals, who are seeking tech-savvy consumers, OneLoad intends to expand its shops and cater to daily wage workers.
Hiraj continues, “The most important function that they want to enable merchants is that clients cash-in and cash-out services through OneLoad’s retailer network rather than doing it through physical ATMs.”
Additionally, digital loans are made available to retailers to help them with their working capital needs. OneLoad performs the loan via its EP Systems and partner firms’ NBFI licenses, and it is also working to obtain its NBFI license.
According to Hiraj, the entire OneLoad product line fundamentally aims to meet the financial demands of shops and give them the ability to offer banking services devoid of actual bank facilities.
OneLoad will use the additional money to increase the number of products and services it offers to Pakistan’s massive unbanked population, which is thought to number 100 million adults. In a news release, Hiraj stated, “We are a grassroots company for the grassroots.”
“We are thrilled to welcome new partners, such as Sarmayacar and Shorooq Partners, to the business. According to Hiraj, “Our objective is to digitize the financial needs of Pakistan’s unbanked and financially excluded masses.
Systems Ltd., an existing investor in the startup, took part in the funding round along with commercial banks that contributed to debt financing, according to Hiraj. International Financial Corporation of the World Bank is another current investor.
Tamer Azer, Partner of Shorooq Partners, said: “We cannot have financial inclusion without a strong infrastructure that integrates into people’s daily life; if the solutions we design do not seamlessly interface with people’s every day, we will not achieve that.” “We learned this in Egypt, and we view this as a huge opportunity in Pakistan as well.”
Image Credit: OneLoad
