In the latest series of funding rounds for Pakistani startups,Daftarkhwan has raised seed funding from regional classifieds giant EMPG.
EMPG owns and operates a staggering 10 brands across 16 countries in the property and classified spaces, and reached unicorn status in 2020. In Pakistan and the UAE alone, EMPG leads the market with brands such as Zameen.com, Zameen Developments, OLX, Lamudi, EMPG LABS, Bayut and dubizzle.
Daftarkhwan kicked off operations in 2016 and is one of the pioneers of the coworking movement in Pakistan, a country of 220 million people with a booming startup ecosystem that has captured significant investor interest in 2021.
What began as an experimental 20-people coworking facility now has 5 distinct locations and hosts 1,650+ professionals across 3 cities on a daily basis. During COVID-19, Daftarkhwan grew 5 times and expanded into 2 new cities. With the sites currently under development, Daftarkhwan is set to double in size once more and is set to host 3,000+ individuals across its facilities nationwide by Q3 2022.
In a lot of ways, the growth of Daftarkhwan has been reflective of the growth of the startup ecosystem in Pakistan. As tech startups have grown and become key players in mainstream Pakistani economy, so has Daftarkhwan and the coworking paradigm. Over the years, Daftarkhwan has been a core driver of the startup ecosystems of Lahore and has seen stellar member companies, such as Airlift, Jugnu, UnlayerandCareem, among many others, take root and take-off. Some of the leading Pakistani and regional startups currently operating out of Daftarkhwan have raised $570 million in investments in 2021 alone.
“Daftarkhwan has always taken great pride in being more than just an office for its community of entrepreneurs and innovators, and we are excited to expand this community further,” exclaims Saad Idrees, the co-founder of Daftarkhwan.
EMPG CEO Imran Ali Khan said Daftarkhwan represents Pakistani ingenuity at its best. “One of the key drivers of EMPG’s own success has been its investment in the right people above all else, and the team at the helm of Daftarkhwan are some of the most hard-working, ambitious and dedicated people in Pakistan’s startup ecosystem,” said Khan.
With this seed round, EMPG joins Walled City Co as investors in Daftarkhwan as the company gears up to change how people work all over Pakistan.