Finja, the leading dual-licensed SME digital lending platform in Pakistan, has announced a significant capital infusion of $10 million in its Series A2 funding round. The investment comes from renowned investors such as Sturgeon Capital and HBL, with HBL making its second investment in the company after its initial involvement in the Series A1 round.
The funding round comprises a mix of equity, debt, and off-balance sheet funding, empowering Finja to finance projects worth over $50 million in the next 12 months. This injection will play a pivotal role in fulfilling the company’s vision of empowering Micro, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and their supply chains with digital credit. Finja aims to scale up its current digital co-lending initiative, solidifying its position as a long-term solution for SMEs across Pakistan.
Collaboration between fintechs and banks is considered the future of the financial services sector, and Qasif Shahid, co-founder of Finja, believes that moving away from vertical silos and towards embedded finance and open banking platforms will provide digital products to small and micro businesses more effectively.
With this latest funding, Finja’s credit engine is expected to accelerate, showcasing its scalability and accuracy in serving SMEs in Pakistan. The company has already established itself as one of the top digital lending platforms in the nation, providing nearly 150,000 loans to 35,000 Karyana outlets across 30+ cities. Finja also collaborates closely with FMCG distributors, facilitating their access to upstream supplies on credit. Furthermore, Finja offers specialized working capital financing lines to SMEs, evaluated by the company’s in-house AI/ML algorithms.
Finja’s innovative approach includes packaging capital in modest amounts of PKR 50,000 for 7, 14, and 30-day periods, specifically tailored for Karyana stores to obtain credit for acquiring supplies and boosting sales. Kamran Zuberi, CEO of Finja Lending Services, highlights the use of information from relationships with FMCG companies, distributors, and market aggregators to assess these merchants’ creditworthiness.
Finja, established in 2016, is supported by leading international venture capital firms like VEF, BeeNext, Quona Capital, ICU, Sturgeon Capital, Gray MacKenzie, and HBL. As the only fintech company in Pakistan holding multiple licenses from both regulators, Finja possesses an NBFC (Non-Banking Finance Company) license from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and a commercial operating license as an EMI (Electronic-Money Issuer) under State Bank of Pakistan regulations.
