Finance startups Haball and Postex, both part of Zayn VC’s portfolio companies, have made it to the Forbes Asia 100 To Watch list for 2025.
According to Forbes’ website, this is the fifth annual Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list, which aims to “provide a window into the vibrant world of startups and small companies in the Asia-Pacific region. It’s a constantly evolving ecosystem, which is increasingly focusing on AI and deep tech to innovate and thrive.”
Haball, founded in 2017 and based in Karachi, is lead by Omer Bin Ahsan. Forbes described it as a B2B fintech company that offers Shariah-compliant supply chain financing and payment services to companies in Pakistan.
Its services include digital invoicing, tax compliance and working capital financing. To date, the company says it has processed over $3 billion in payments. In April, Haball raised $52 million in a pre-series A funding round, comprising $5 million in equity financing led by Zayn VC and $47 million in strategic financing from Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s largest Islamic bank.
Meanwhile PostEx, founded in 2020 is also based in Karachi, with CEO Muhammad Omer Khan currently at the helm.
It is described as a hybrid logistics and fintech company servicing the online retail sector of Pakistan’s predominantly cash-based economy.
Originally launched as a delivery service, PostEx pivoted to offering upfront cash payments to e-commerce merchants (collecting the outstanding amount from purchasers on delivery). Its approach helps sellers manage cash flow while streamlining courier operations, according to Forbes.
In 2022, PostEx acquired Call Courier, a competing logistics provider, which made it Pakistan’s largest e-commerce delivery service. The company raised $7.3 million in a pre-series A round last August led by Conjunction Capital to support its expansion into the Middle East.
Zayn VC shared the news on LinkedIn, where it said that “this recognition not only highlights the incredible work of these founders but also showcases the growing impact of startups from our region on the global stage.”
It noted that this is the second year in a row that Zayn VC companies have been recognized – with NayaPay making the list in 2024. DealCart, an online grocery startup founded in 2022, also made it to last year’s list.
“A proud moment for the ecosystem, and an encouraging sign of what’s ahead for Pakistan and the broader region,” it said.
Zayn VC is a US & Cayman Domiciled VC Fund investing in early-stage ventures in Pakistan.
It invests Pakistani start-ups “creating transformative technology-backed companies across the country,” according to LinkedIn.
“We focus on early-stage companies and are generally sector agnostic, but view every company from a FinTech lens.
We have invested cross sector in Pakistan from B2C & B2B E-Commerce, Logistics and Fintech —50% of our portfolio is concentrated in leading Pakistani FinTechs,“ its LinkedIn profile states.
It was founded by Faisal Aftab in 2021; a Pakistani-American entrepreneur and investor. Zayn VC is his second fund in Pakistan after Lakson VC.
According to Forbes, VC funding in the APAC region had fallen to a ten-year low at the end of 2024, but has seen an uptick in some countries this year.
According to a recent KPMG report, India, Japan and Singapore are drawing more risk capital this year, it said.
A total of 16 countries and territories were represented on this year’s list, where India lead with 18 companies, followed by Singapore and Japan (14 each), China (9), Indonesia and South Korea (8 each) and Australia (7).
According to Forbes, “investors favor fast-rising sectors such as biotechnology, spacetech and green tech, and our list is well-populated by companies in those fields—from enterprises developing gene-editing therapies for cancer treatments to those producing new anode material for lithium-ion batteries or building novel propulsion systems for spacecraft.”
Overall, the 100 companies on the list have drawn nearly $3 billion in funding to date, compared with $2 billion raised by last year’s group.