The Venture Codex

Participated · Seed · Apr 2022

Oware provides a network of connected warehouses combined with an online portal that manages inventory, tracks shipments in real time, and supplies digital proof of delivery. The company partners with third-party logistics providers and rents warehouse space so clients can rapidly start operations from locations closest to end customers. Its partners handle picking, packing and shipping while Oware’s portal gives visibility across multiple warehouses and logistics providers. Most customers are B2B market and retail companies seeking backend warehousing and last-mile transportation or dark store fulfillment. Oware currently operates 18 warehouses across five Pakistani cities, totaling 500,000 square feet, and says it can deliver same-day to 75% of the population and next-day to 85%. Part of the new funding will be used to increase its geographic coverage and expand service availability.

Led · Seed · Feb 2021

Maya operates a telehealth platform centered on sensitive reproductive and mental health issues, pairing a machine-learning digital assistant with a network of licensed clinicians. Its digital assistant uses natural language processing to answer basic health questions in Bengali (and is being developed for Urdu, Hindi and Arabic), providing automated answers across roughly 50 topics at about 95% accuracy. The platform has handled about four million queries to date, with roughly half answered by AI, and reports about 10 million unique users and more than 300 licensed healthcare providers. Maya delivers end-to-end encrypted consultations and routes urgent or complex queries to human experts; it currently handles about one consultation every 10 seconds. The company is pursuing multiple monetization paths including B2B SaaS for employers (clients include Marks & Spencer, Primark and BGMEA), partnerships with insurers, and direct-to-consumer premium services such as in-app video consultations and prescription delivery. Maya has expanded regionally—recently launching in Sri Lanka and testing services in India, Pakistan and Middle Eastern countries—and plans to enter Southeast Asia.

Led · Series B · Apr 2015

SureCash operates a mobile banking and payment platform that allows users with a mobile phone to deposit cash, send money, make purchases, and pay bills. The company is incorporated as SureCash Pte Ltd in Singapore and runs its Bangladesh business through wholly-owned subsidiary Progoti Systems Limited. SureCash was founded in 2010 by Dr. Shahadat Khan. The startup employed 135 people in Bangladesh at the time of the report. In April 2015 the company completed a $7m Series B venture capital round led by the Osiris Group, following an earlier Series A from a group of Japanese investors focused on e-commerce.