Karachi, Pakistan — Pakistani fintech startup Haball has made headlines by raising a remarkable $52 million in its latest pre-Series A funding round. The company plans to use this capital injection to expand operations in Pakistan and launch into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, starting with Saudi Arabia in 2025.
This funding marks a significant milestone in Pakistan’s startup ecosystem, especially for the Islamic fintech space. With this investment, Haball aims to reshape supply chain financing, a traditionally underserved sector in both Pakistan and the broader Middle East.
A Unique Funding Structure Backed by Leading Institutions
The $52 million raised by Haball is structured into two parts:
- $5 million in equity funding, led by Zayn Venture Capital, a well-known investor in the Pakistani tech scene. The round also included participation from Majlis Advisory SPV and a group of Saudi-based angel investors.
- A further $47 million in strategic financing was extended by Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s largest Islamic bank. With its AAA credit rating and reputation for Sharia-compliant services, Meezan’s support signals strong institutional confidence in Haball’s business model and future trajectory.
This blend of equity and strategic debt financing offers Haball the flexibility to grow while maintaining a sustainable capital structure. The significant commitment from Meezan Bank also indicates the increasing involvement of Islamic financial institutions in supporting the fintech ecosystem.
Solving a Major Problem in Pakistan’s Financial Landscape
In Pakistan, over 90% of businesses are SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), yet fewer than 5% have access to formal financing from banks. This leaves a huge financing gap, estimated to be in the billions of dollars. These SMEs often struggle with working capital due to delayed payments, poor access to credit, and informal or manual supply chains.
Haball’s digital platform is designed to solve this pain point. It enables businesses to digitize their supply chains, from payment collection and invoicing to tax compliance and financing — all in a Shariah-compliant manner. This end-to-end platform improves transparency, reduces delays, and helps businesses grow without relying on traditional collateral-heavy banking solutions.
With an increasing shift toward digitalization and formalization in Pakistan’s economy, particularly with tax reforms and the rise of digital banking, Haball is well-positioned to become a core infrastructure provider for business-to-business (B2B) financial services.
Track Record of Performance and Innovation
Since its launch in 2017, Haball has followed a conservative, results-driven approach to growth. The company has processed over $3 billion in payments and disbursed more than $110 million in financing to thousands of SMEs across Pakistan. Its technology infrastructure supports real-time visibility into supply chains and offers automated reporting, allowing businesses to make faster and more informed financial decisions.
Haball’s client base includes major multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola, as well as thousands of smaller businesses spread across Pakistan’s industrial and commercial hubs. This wide reach demonstrates the platform’s scalability and its ability to serve a diverse range of businesses.
The company has also hit several important regulatory milestones, including being the first fintech in Pakistan licensed by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for digital invoicing. In addition, it was selected by the State Bank of Pakistan as a multi-bank supply chain financing platform. Haball is also in the process of becoming a regulated Payment Initiation Service Provider, which will allow it to integrate with Raast, Pakistan’s instant payment system.
These regulatory wins not only validate the company’s technology and processes but also open doors for future innovation and deeper integration into the country’s financial system.
Saudi Arabia and the GCC: The Next Big Move
With Pakistan operations scaling steadily, Haball is now ready to expand into international markets. The company’s first regional target is Saudi Arabia, where it plans to set up operations in 2025. The Kingdom is home to a large and growing SME sector, and recent regulatory reforms are making the environment more attractive for financial technology providers.
Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative is pushing for the digital transformation of its economy and a more significant role for the private sector. This aligns perfectly with Haball’s mission to offer Islamic, SME-focused, tech-enabled financial solutions.
Haball’s CEO and Founder, Omer bin Ahsan, stated that the company is committed to supporting the “untapped and underserved” SME sector in Saudi Arabia and throughout the GCC. He emphasized that the demand for digital Sharia-compliant financial products is rising across the region, and Haball is ready to meet it.
Looking beyond Saudi Arabia, Haball is also eyeing entry into other GCC markets such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, where similar opportunities exist. These markets have high levels of smartphone penetration, growing e-commerce ecosystems, and a need for modernized B2B financial services.
Investors Backing a Vision for Scalable Islamic Fintech
The success of this funding round shows strong investor confidence not only in Haball’s business model but also in the broader potential of Islamic fintech in emerging markets. According to Faisal Aftab, Founder and Managing Partner at Zayn VC, Haball stands out for its strong fundamentals, clear value proposition, and a proven ability to execute.
He pointed out that while many fintech startups in the region focus on consumer solutions like digital wallets or buy-now-pay-later services, Haball has taken a more infrastructure-based B2B approach, which is both scalable and impactful.
This approach is particularly relevant in markets like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, where SME sectors form the backbone of the economy but remain underserved by conventional banks.
A Promising Future for Islamic B2B Fintech
Haball’s journey from a small startup to a fintech leader in Pakistan showcases how technology, combined with deep industry knowledge and regulatory alignment, can reshape outdated financial systems. With this new funding and expansion strategy in place, the company is preparing to enter a new growth phase that could see it become a regional leader in Islamic B2B finance.
As the global demand for ethical and Sharia-compliant finance grows, Haball’s model — grounded in impact, scalability, and transparency — could serve as a blueprint for future fintechs in both Muslim-majority and emerging markets.
In a region where digital transformation is accelerating and financial inclusion remains a key priority, Haball is emerging as a serious player to watch.
