we invest in early stage tech startups solving big problems in Pakistan.
We support dynamic & audacious founders and provide hands-on support to seed-stage companies to take their businesses to the next stage.
Our Approach
Our team has worked with startups in Pakistan for over a decade. We have a deep understanding of the market, and the needs of early-stage companies. We don’t believe it is enough to just write a cheque, and support our portfolio companies in growing their businesses to the next level.
Our Criteria
i2i Ventures mainly invests in seed-stage, technology or technology-enabled companies based in Pakistan. We are sector agnostic, and are excited by dynamic & audacious founders. We look for high-growth companies that have demonstrated product-market fit and are post-revenue.
Our investees receive:
Support via Invest2Innovate’s Insights team. Our sister entity’s research arm plays a key role in supporting our portfolio companies, providing customer research & insights to accelerate their growth.
Access to a deep bench of local & international experts. We have been working with startups for a long time, and can leverage our network to better support the growth of our portfolio companies.
Hands-on technical assistance & support from our team on strategy to grow your company to the next level.
Our leaders
Kalsoom Lakhani
Co-founder/general partner
Kalsoom is the Founder of Invest2Innovate, which she established in 2011 & has worked in the Pakistan startup ecosystem for 10+ years. She has trained entrepreneurs & worked with ecosystem players globally, including in Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh & Vietnam. She has spoken on entrepreneurship & investing in Pakistan on a number of forums, including SXSW, Aspen Ideas Festival, the World Economic Forum, and the Global Entrepreneurship Congress.
Misbah Naqvi
co-founder/general partner
Misbah has 20+ years of global experience in finance, development, fintech and impact investing. She was previously Head of Market Development at Boloro Global Limited, a US-based fintech startup. While at Boloro, she led the company’s expansion to a number of markets, including South Africa, Kuwait, Pakistan, India, UAE, Nigeria, and Jordan. Misbah spent a number of years at Acumen Pakistan & USA and at Citibank Pakistan.
Ailia Naeem
investment associate
Ailia has 5+ years of work experience in Pakistan’s equity market, during which she was associated with some of the leading local brokerage houses as an Equity Research Analyst. Over the last five years, she has identified several alpha generating stocks and pitched investment ideas to local and foreign clients. She has a graduate degree in Business Administration from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.
We Have Invested In
Tazah
B2B fresh produce marketplace that connects farmers to businesses in Pakistan.
Oraan
Female-first finance platform to boost financial inclusion in Pakistan.
Abhi Finance
Platform to give employees instant and 24×7 access to earned wages.
Credit Book
An app that enables MSMEs to manage finances & payments.
Edkasa
Exam prep app geared towards 9-12 grade students.
Mauqa Online
On-demand platform for household help.
TelloTalk
Localized messaging and communications platform for Pakistan
Media
Tazah gets pre-seed funding to make Pakistan’s agriculture sector more bountiful
The founders of Tazah Technologies, a B2B agriculture marketplace in Pakistan, met while serving leadership roles at Uber subsidiary Careem.
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Oraan raises $3M to increase financial inclusion among Pakistani women
After working as an investment banker in Canada for a decade, Halima Iqbal moved back to Pakistan in 2017 and quickly realized how difficult it is for women to access financial services.
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Pakistan’s Abhi raises $2 million seed for its salary advance platform, joins Y Combinator
Karachi-based salary advance platform Abhi has raised $2 million in a seed round led by Vostok Emerging Finance, it announced in a statement today.
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Pakistan’s CreditBook raises $1.5 million seed to digitize bookkeeping for small businesses
Karachi-based fintech CreditBook has raised $1.5 million in a seed round, it told MENAbytes today. The investment came from a mix of local and international investors..
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