Fintech’s regulatory sandbox entry signals global confidence in Pakistan’s open banking push
KARACHI:
In a move that has electrified Pakistan’s fintech landscape, Epic Angels, the world’s largest “female-only” investment collective, has officially announced its backing of Karachi-based fintech Neem in a Pre-Series A round, Neem disclosed on its website. The development marks an essential shift in how global “smart money” views the Pakistani market, moving beyond speculative bets towards building foundational digital infrastructure.
Based in Singapore, Epic Angels is not a traditional venture capital firm. It is a network of over 200 high-net-worth female executives and entrepreneurs dedicated to bridging the gender funding gap. Their entry into Pakistan’s embedded finance space signals a focus not on an app, but on the rails that will carry the country’s commerce in the coming decade.
The timing of the investment is critical. On January 12, the State Bank of Pakistan officially inducted Neem into its first-ever regulatory sandbox for open banking, granting it approval to test financial data-sharing protocols once limited to traditional, brick-and-mortar banks.
“Fintech funding today is not speculative capital chasing growth. It is strategic investment in building the financial rails of the digital economy. When investors back platforms like Neem, they are backing Pakistan’s transition from cash to code,” said technopreneur and Si Global Solutions chief executive Dr Noman Ahmed Said.
Pakistan, with more than 240 million people and rising digital adoption, presents a compelling case for fintech-led transformation. Yet venture inflows into the sector have historically lagged behind regional peers, he added.
Welcoming the development, Said noted that, founded as an embedded finance and full-stack payments platform, Neem raised $2.5 million in seed funding in 2022. While the amount was not disclosed, the Pre-Series A participation from Epic Angels is strategically significant at a time when few Pakistani startups are progressing beyond the seed stage.
Following this milestone, unlike traditional banks that require physical visits and heavy documentation, Neem’s platform allows businesses, from agritech startups to logistics firms, to offer financial services, credit and insurance directly within their own apps.
For the 70% of Pakistan’s population that remains unbanked or underbanked, the shift is transformative. It means a female garment worker or a small-scale farmer no longer needs to walk into a bank; financial services are embedded in the platforms they already use for work.
The Epic AngelsNeem deal offers a counter-narrative of resilience. It shows that, despite economic headwinds, Pakistan’s open banking infrastructure is emerging as a magnet for global, gender-lens investment. This development is not just a win for a startup; it signals the opening of a new chapter in commerce, where finance is invisible, inclusive and instantaneous.
“What is now required is policy continuity, regulatory clarity and patient capital,” urged Said.
