Dbank gears up for launch in Pakistan, secures $17.6m seed funding

Dbank, a new digital banking start-up based in Islamabad, Pakistan, has raised $17.6 million in seed funding as it gears up for launch.

Dbank raises $17.6m seed funding

The investment round was co-led by Sequoia Southeast Asia and Kleiner Perkins and featured participation from Brazilian digital banking giant Nubank, Askari Bank, Singapore-based Rayn and RTP Global, as well as angel investors who have worked at companies such as Google, Goldman Sachs and Stripe.

While information on the firm is currently scarce, Dbank writes on its website that it wants to make it “simple to borrow, transact and save money securely”, adding that it aims to boost financial inclusion and provide “access to financial services for everyone” in Pakistan.

The company was founded in 2021 by Tania Aidrus and Khurram Jamali.

Aidrus previously worked as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan where she laid out the country’s digitisation framework. Prior to this she spent over a decade at Google.

Jamali previously served as head of partnerships for payments across the Next Billion User (NBU) markets for Google. He also led the Pakistani market at Google Singapore.

The firm has submitted a digital retail banking licence application to the State Bank of Pakistan, with Askari Bank acting as a local sponsor.

The challenger’s official launch date is currently unknown but interested customers can sign up on its website to be kept in the loop.