Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company (Private) Limited (PKIC) has announced that it is making an equity investment of Rs. 500 million in the Karachi-based company Planet N (Private) Limited.
This is the largest equity investment by a local Financial Institution in a Tech Investment Platform in Pakistan and had been approved by the Board of PKIC in December 2020.
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This investment will help Planet N expand its operations besides motivating other investors to explore opportunities to develop and strengthen tech entrepreneurship and disruption in the country.
With total assets of over Rs. 107 billion and equity over Rs. 38 billion, PKIC is Pakistan’s leading DFI engaged in investment and development financing activities in the country.
PKIC was established as a joint venture between the Governments of Pakistan and Kuwait in 1979, and is a ‘AAA’ (Triple A) rated financial institution.
Planet N has invested and nurtured tech start-ups such as Tapmad TV, Dawaai.pk, PublishEx, Tez Financial Services, Datalift, PiePie, Kashat, JinglePay, etc., that are spread across various jurisdictions including Pakistan, the UAE, Egypt, Singapore, and the USA. It currently has more than 30 companies in its portfolio focusing on financial inclusion, fintech, digital media, data science, and AI. This portfolio is expected to continue growing after the equity investment by PKIC.
While speaking at the signing ceremony, the Managing Director (MD) of PKIC, Mubashar Maqbool expressed his delight at this investment by PKIC, and stated that it has a firm desire to support all the priority sectors of the economy, and especially the growing technology sector, by providing traditional and innovative financing solutions to its prospective customers.
He hopes for this landmark investment to inspire other players, investors, family business houses, and investment companies to do the same, and encourages young entrepreneurs in the tech sector.
The Chief Executive officer (CEO) of Planet N, Nadeem Hussain, said he had always tried to encourage local investors to aid young entrepreneurs with innovative ideas. His initial investment in tech companies has resulted in exponential gains, and he hopes that having PKIC as an equity partner will initiate a big disruption in the local-investors-horizon and their approach to tech-based investments.
The CEO and President of Meezan Bank Ltd, Irfan Siddiqui, who was also the Chief Guest at the event said that this is a one-of-its-kind investment by a local DFI into a tech disruption investment company, paving the way for further investment by other financial institutions that will help tech start-ups in Pakistan.
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The others in attendance were Ariful Islam, the Deputy CEO of Meezan Bank Ltd.; Khurram Hussain, the MD of Pak Libya Holding Co.; and the senior management from PKIC, Planet N, and Arif Habib Limited (AHL).
AHL acted as the Financial Advisor in this landmark transaction.
Planet N was founded by Nadeem Hussain in 2016, with a vision to invest in growth-oriented hi-tech companies. Hussain is the founder and former CEO of Telenor Microfinance Bank.
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