Taro Technologies, an emerging fintech startup in Pakistan, has secured $3.5 Million in pre-seed funding through a combination of strategic partnerships and angel investors to launch a Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) venture in Pakistan. As part of their pre-seed round, Taro has partnered with Dubai-based Cashew Payments – a BNPL leader in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – to accelerate its 2022 Q1 launch and growth. Mustafa Khan, CEO of Taro and former Silicon Valley Apple engineer, has stressed that this partnership will enable Taro to be an established player straight out of the gate, stating: “Our collaboration with Cashew provides critical insights into risk, merchant acquisition, operations, and customer retention. Those insights paired with support from their experienced and accomplished leadership team position us for a strong launch and to quickly dominate the market.” The partnership with Cashew Payments puts the local Lahore fintech company on the global tech map for online instant financing solutions. Ammar Afif, CEO of cashew, said: “We are delighted to partner with Taro, in providing ‘Buy now, Pay later’ solutions for merchants and consumers in Pakistan,” Afif continued. “As we’ve grown our business in the GCC, we recognized the need for retailers in Pakistan to have a seamless way of offering flexible payment options to consumers in multiple industries. Through our partnership with Taro, all retailers in Pakistan can soon rapidly activate Taro’s installment payments for consumers across all channels online and offline.” While the GCC has close ties with Pakistan, learnings from the GCC will still need to be tailored for Pakistan before they can be successfully applied locally. As such, Taro CEO Mustafa Khan, now based in Lahore, has been busy expanding his local network. “To prime our Q1 launch, we’ve also been busy on the ground in Lahore hiring a talented core team with significant fintech expertise. Along with our core team, we’ve arranged partnerships with local financial and technical firms that will ensure a strong and successful launch.” – Mustafa Khan The BNPL venture intends to help provide new forms of credit to all Pakistanis, especially the underbanked, with Mustafa’s enthusiasm captured in the quote below: “I am thrilled to be launching BNPL in Pakistan through Taro. I’ve noticed Pakistanis are eager for access to new technology that puts them in control. By offering lending services to a wider range of people, we can help provide the control and flexibility they desire” Pakistan’s e-commerce sector has seen a lot of growth in the past fiscal year of 2021, with a spend of around US$7.2 Billion. Taro seeks to provide easy access to credit for all Pakistanis, allowing increased access to e-commerce outlets. The company is looking to expand their operations across the country and eventually beyond. Taro Technologies is a rising BNPL star and plans to provide flexible payment options and access to new forms of credit to Pakistani customers, while also enabling merchants (who are looking for more payment options) to grow sales and increase their market reach.