After buying Egypt firm, Saudi Arabia’s Sary makes South Asia foray

Saudi Arabian e-commerce company Sary has led a $22.5 million Series A funding round in Pakistani B2B e-commerce firm Jugnu, making its foray into the South Asian nation.

The development comes less than four weeks after Sary acquired Egyptian B2B marketplace Mowarrid and three months after the Saudi firm itself raised $75 million in a Series C round led by Sanabil Investments. Overall, Sary has raised $112 million in venture funding, including $30.5 million in Series B in early 2021.

Sary, which connects small retailers with a network of wholesalers and manufacturers, was founded in 2018 by Mohammed Aldossary and Khaled Alsiari.

“Supply chain fragmentation is a persistent issue across emerging markets, leaving local businesses in a disadvantageous position,” said Sary co-founder and CEO Mohammed Aldossary.

“Following Sary’s strong growth and success in Saudi Arabia in 2021, Sary’s focus this year has been accelerating our regional consolidation strategy to help bridge efficiency gaps in B2B sales in MENAP,” he said, referring to the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan region.

He also said that the investment into a Pakistani company was in line with Sary’s goal of being a leading B2B platform in emerging markets.

Apart from Sary, Lahore-based Jugnu also raised capital from Sarmayacar, an early-stage venture capital firm backing Pakistani startups, and tech company Systems Ltd. Jugnu didn’t comment disclose the valuation at which it raised the money.

Jugnu says its goal is to drive social and economic empowerment for small businesses in Pakistan. Its B2B platform channel supplies from large suppliers and manufacturers to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Jugnu claims to have more than 30,000 SMBs on its platform and has grown to a team of more than 100 employees.