Inov8ers Hasnain Sheikh and Bashir Sheikh.
Inov8 will use its latest equity injection to expand in the Middle East and Africa.
Pakistani tech company Inov8 Limited has been valued at $108 million in its first round of fresh funding.
The company made the announcement on Oct. 29 following an equity injection of $5.4 million from Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the minister of culture, youth, and social development of the United Arab Emirates, for a 5-percent stake in Inov8.
“I have invested in multiple mobile payments and commerce initiatives,” said Al Nahyan, “and I find the depth of the management, the product platform, and the vision of the founders [of Inov8] to be the best I have come across. I look forward to being an integral part of their success story.”
Inov8 was founded by cousins and Wharton School alums Bashir Sheikh and Hasnain Sheikh in 2004 in Lahore. It is today among the leading providers of tech solutions for the cellphone-based banking industry.
“Our experience comes from working with some of the best organizations in the world, including Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies,” says Inov8. The company’s roster of Pakistan-based clients includes Zong, Ufone, Telenor, Mobilink, Warid, Wateen, Bank of Punjab, Meezan Bank, Askari Bank, and J.S. Bank.
“Inov8 is the dominant player in the Pakistan market, and is now expanding to Africa and the Middle East with its award-winning products and services,” says Hasnain Sheikh, CEO and cofounder of the company. “Inov8 is looking to scale and grow its world-class team to be the No. 1 mobile-payments company in the world by 2020. This round of funding is testament to the massive upsurge in the demand for Inov8 products and services across the region which has been phenomenal over the last 18 months.”
“We will be utilizing our funds for growth across the Middle East and Africa region with an expectation to raise a much larger ‘Series B’ round in the near future,” says Bashir Sheikh, president and cofounder of Inov8. “We will be looking to grow organically and via acquisitions.”
Inov8 is currently headquartered in the U.A.E. and has a presence in the U.K. “This funding and valuation should also help pave the way for investment into the burgeoning Pakistan technology industry,” it says.
1 comment
Inki koi presence nai hai UAE men na he UK men. Sab baqwas hai, they actually owe alot of money to their ex employees their provident and salaries they have not settled.