With Rs. 176 million (USD 1.15 million) investment in Finja’s Rs. 1.56 billion (USD 10.15 million) Series A1 round, HBL becomes Pakistan’s first bank to invest in a digital fintech firm. BeeNext, Vostok Emerging Finance, Quona Capital, and ICU Ventures are among the many major worldwide fintech funds that have invested in Finja.
Qasif Shahid, CEO and Co-Founder Finja stated, “We are ecstatic that HBL has agreed to join in this round of funding. Since the start of the pandemic earlier this year, our groundbreaking accomplishment in digitally assessing undocumented small businesses has resulted in a 64 percent month-on-month portfolio growth. HBL’s financial clout, vast network, and innovative leadership will undoubtedly assist us in elevating the country’s most crucial section, the SMEs.”
Finja serves two of HBL’s strategic priorities: investing in Digital Financial Inclusion and Development Finance companies, particularly those with an impact in agriculture and SMEs, as these are the economy’s backbone, and proactively reinventing HBL to become a “technology company with a banking license.”
