The Malaysia based venture capital fund focused on online classifieds businesses in emerging and frontier markets will invest US$3.5 Million into PakWheels.com

Over last 10 years, PakWheels.com has helped millions of Pakistanis buy & sell cars and bikes, read automotive reviews and news, check automotive prices and find solutions to their automotive needs.

Despite the introduction of competing classifieds websites by giants like Naspers, Schibsted and other international internet firms, PakWheels.com has managed to grow its market share owing largely to the cult-like following of its brand, a very loyal user base, great execution by the management team and marketing programs that are inclusive of the brick and mortar car dealerships in the country.

Muhammad Raza Saeed, Co-Founder and CEO of PakWheels.com, said while commenting on the deal, “Pakistan’s internet user base is expected to grow to 100 million users by 2019 and we want to be the goto place for anything and everything to do with wheels for this online population. This round of funding will help us strengthen our leadership position, improve existing services and build new offerings. Think Wheels, Think PakWheels.”

CEO and Founder of Frontier Digital Ventures, Shaun Di Gregorio, remarked, “PakWheels.com epitomizes the kind of business that Frontier Digital Ventures is seeking to invest in. We love frontier and emerging markets and have a wealth of expertise and a proven track record of extracting value in the opportunities these markets present, so we are really looking forward to working with the team to take the portal to its full potential.”

According to Khurram Zafar, Executive Director of LUMS Center for Entrepreneurship and advisor to the deal, “Consumer internet services and IT-enabled product businesses in Pakistan represent a great investment opportunity for savvy investors who can look past the negative perception about the country in international media. This deal is a testament to the increasing confidence of early stage venture investors in Pakistani talent and business savvy.”

The investment by Frontier Digital Ventures follows a recent trend of investments by international seed stage funds and angel investors into tech focused Pakistani startups with high growth potential. Frontier Digital’s earlier investment in the leading property portal of Pakistan Zameen.com, and Kima Venture’s funding of Shopistan and computer vision products company Eyedeus Labs are recent examples.

 

About PakWheels.com 

PakWheels.com is Pakistan’s #1 Automotive Portal.

With 20 million views monthly, PakWheels.com is country’s top resource to buy & sell cars and bikes, read automotive reviews and news, check automotive prices and find solutions to all their automotive needs. The portal also has a cult like following amongst auto enthusiasts who share videos, photos and have discussions with each other through the platform.

Contributor

Recently Published

Key Takeaway: Love is a crucial aspect of life, defining relationships, identity, and self-worth. The popular belief that self-love is necessary for romantic love is often questioned, as some philosophers argue that excessive focus on oneself can lead to narcissism. However, the absence of self-love can manifest as a fundamental lack of self-worth, leaving individuals […]

Top Picks

Key Takeaway: Airports often lead to unusual behavior, such as drunken brawls and flight diversions. The psychology of travel can influence this behavior, as the promise of vacation can shift our mindset into anticipation and liberation. The overwhelming noise, crowds, and constant hustle can overload our senses, leading to stress-induced irritability and unexpected outbursts. Airports […]
Key Takeaway: Over 8,500 shipwrecks from two devastating world wars pose a significant threat to marine ecosystems and coastal communities. These underwater time capsules contain up to 6 billion gallons of oil, munitions, toxic heavy metals, and chemical weapons. The degradation of these wrecks is accelerating due to rising ocean temperatures, increasing acidification, and more […]
Key Takeaway: Venture capital-backed startups, such as Anduril Industries, are transforming the defense sector by securing multi-million dollar contracts from the US Department of Defense and the UK Ministry of Defence. This surge in AI-driven defense technologies is driven by a relentless appetite for risk and innovation, with venture capital firms playing a pivotal role […]
Key Takeaway: Attosecond science, a field that earned the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2023, uses ultra-short laser pulses to observe and manipulate matter on timescales previously thought impossible. This breakthrough has implications across various sectors, including computing, renewable energy, medicine, and beyond. Attosecond science harnesses the energy of laser light to emit rapidly moving […]
Key Takeaway: The blue sky is a result of Rayleigh scattering, a process where shorter wavelengths of light scatter more than longer wavelengths. The atmosphere is composed of nitrogen and oxygen molecules, which interact with sunlight to create a spectrum of colors. This scattering process, which is governed by physics and chemistry, is the primary […]

Trending

I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […]

Join our Newsletter

Get our monthly recap with the latest news, articles and resources.

Login

Welcome to Empirics

We are glad you have decided to join our mission of gathering the collective knowledge of Asia!
Join Empirics