Pakistani messaging app TelloTalk raises $1.6mn in seed funding

KARACHI: TelloTalk, a Pakistan built online messaging platform, says it has raised $1.6 million in seed funding from a consortium of international and domestic investors.

The Seed Round includes global venture funds ALM Holdings (UAE), SparkLabsFinTech(Asia), One Market Capital (USA)and Cocoon Ignite Ventures (Hong Kong), as well as local institutional investors TPL eVentures, and i2i Ventures, TelloTalk said in a press statement.

Launched in 2017, TelloTalk is Pakistan's first homegrown and locally hosted messaging app, which aims to empower its users to do more than just messaging.

TelloTalk provides its users with regional language keyboard, localised stickers, and integrated content across a variety of categories, and is also available to corporations of all sizes for productivity improvement, internal communications, or customer interactions via multimedia chat channels.

TelloTalk says it is the only messaging app that fully complies with local regulations to enable critical services such as digital payments and e-government.

"We look forward to adding even more services and have even more Pakistanis enjoying TelloTalk with their friends and families," said Shahbaz Jamote, the company's co-founder and chief executive officer.

"There are more social media accounts in Pakistan than there are bank accounts. With 150 million Pakistanis below the age of 30, it makes sense to digital connect the unconnected in Pakistan with a technology they are comfortable using," said TelloTalk Chairman Arshad Ashraf.

"We aspire to digitise the economy of Pakistan and unleash the incredible creativity and talent of our nation's youth," he added.