Latest news with #NadeemShaikh
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Startup Neem enters logistics space with Leopards Courier Services partnership
Having dipped its toes in the insurance sector last month, embedded finance platform Neem has now entered the logistics space, partnering with Leopards Courier Services, one of the country's largest courier and logistics group. The startup, which has raised over $4 million in seed funding from global and local investors, will provide flagship wallet infrastructure integration, designed to digitise and streamline financial flows across Leopards' vast merchant network, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Under the partnership, Neem will enable a white-labeled wallet app, fully branded by Leopards, allowing merchants across the country to receive payments, manage balances, and make withdrawals. Pakistan's Neem secures $4mn credit facility from DNI Group Zahid Ali Khosa, Vice President Commercial at Leopards, which has a nationwide network of 1,000+ express centers and 1,500+ service locations, said 'our partnership with Neem enables a faster, smarter, and fully digital experience for merchants, reinforcing our position at the forefront of Pakistan's logistics and fintech evolution.' Logistics sector 'backbone of commerce' Speaking to Business Recorder, Nadeem Shaikh, co-founder at Neem, explained that the logistics sector is the backbone of commerce in Pakistan— 'fueling trade, enabling e-commerce, and connecting supply chains across both urban and rural regions. It also employs millions, including delivery agents, drivers, and warehouse staff—many of whom remain financially underserved.' He said manual, delayed settlements have long created friction for logistics companies and their merchant partners. 'Merchants rely on timely access to earnings to manage cash flow, restock inventory, and grow their businesses.' By embedding financial services into logistics networks—such as digital payments and salary access—there's immense potential to drive financial inclusion at scale, he said. He believes this partnership will create 'a foundational shift for a sector built on speed and reliability.' He added that while Neem's initial focus is on merchant settlements, there are several 'high-impact' fintech use cases in logistics that Neem and Leopards are exploring for future phases. These include digital payment collection through QR codes and payment links at the time of delivery; payroll disbursement to logistics employees and delivery riders; vendor payments embedded within the logistics platform; earned wage access to support frontline workers; and Cash on Delivery and delivery financing to address working capital gaps. He also told Business Recorder that one of the future use cases Neem is exploring is to have payment links generated for customers who would opt for it to pay for their parcels on the spot digitally. 'This to bridge the trust gap customers usually have when they opt for Cash on Delivery orders.' Last month Neem announced a strategic partnership with EFU Life. Neem is already active with its payment products and earned wage access solution across key sectors, including healthcare (Sehat Kahani), logistics (Smartlane, TCS), mobility (ezBike), agriculture (Bakhabar Kissan, Farm2Home), education (Edkasa), retail (Sana Safinaz, Union Fabrics), lifestyle (Davaam, Padelverse), e-commerce ( Fenrir, EcommDeals).
Business Recorder
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Recorder
Neem enters logistics space with Leopards Courier Services partnership
Having dipped its toes in the insurance sector last month, embedded finance platform Neem has now entered the logistics space, partnering with Leopards Courier Services, one of the country's largest courier and logistics group. The startup, which has raised over $4 million in seed funding from global and local investors, will provide flagship wallet infrastructure integration, designed to digitise and streamline financial flows across Leopards' vast merchant network, it said in a statement on Tuesday. Under the partnership, Neem will enable a white-labeled wallet app, fully branded by Leopards, allowing merchants across the country to receive payments, manage balances, and make withdrawals. Available on both Android and iOS, the app is built for scale and ease, the statement said. 'We're excited to partner with an industry leader like Leopards to bring embedded finance into one of Pakistan's most critical sectors,' said Nadeem Shaikh, co-founder at Neem. 'This collaboration not only simplifies settlements for thousands of merchants but also opens the door for new fintech use cases in logistics.' Speaking to Business Recorder, Shaikh explained that the logistics sector is the backbone of commerce in Pakistan— 'fueling trade, enabling e-commerce, and connecting supply chains across both urban and rural regions. It also employs millions, including delivery agents, drivers, and warehouse staff—many of whom remain financially underserved.' He said manual, delayed settlements have long created friction for logistics companies and their merchant partners. 'Merchants rely on timely access to earnings to manage cash flow, restock inventory, and grow their businesses.' By embedding financial services into logistics networks—such as digital payments and salary access—there's immense potential to drive financial inclusion at scale,he said. He believes this partnership will create 'a foundational shift for a sector built on speed and reliability.' He also told Business Recorder that while Neem's initial focus is on merchant settlements, there are several 'high-impact' fintech use cases in logistics that Neem and Leopards are exploring for future phases. These include digital payment collection through QR codes and payment links at the time of delivery; payroll disbursement to logistics employees and delivery riders; vendor payments embedded within the logistics platform; earned wage access to support frontline workers; and Cash on Delivery and delivery financing to address working capital gaps. He also said one the future use cases Neem is exploring is to have payment links generated for customers who would opt for it to pay for their parcels on the spot digitally. 'This to bridge the trust gap customers usually have when they opt for Cash on Delivery orders.' Meanwhile Zahid Ali Khosa, Vice President Commercial at Leopards, which has a nationwide network of 1,000+ express centers and 1,500+ service locations, said 'our partnership with Neem enables a faster, smarter, and fully digital experience for merchants, reinforcing our position at the forefront of Pakistan's logistics and fintech evolution.' Last month Neem announced a strategic partnership with EFU Life. Neem is already active across key sectors including healthcare (Sehat Kahani), logistics (Smartlane, TCS), mobility (ezBike), agriculture (Bakhabar Kissan, Farm2Home), education (Edkasa), retail (Sana Safinaz, Union Fabrics), lifestyle (Davaam, Padelverse), security (Wackenhut Pakistan), workforce solutions (HRSG) and and e-commerce ( Fenrir, EcommDeals).
Business Recorder
13-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Startup Neem enters insurance sector with EFU Life partnership
Embedded finance platform Neem, which has raised over $4 million in seed funding from global and local investors, announced a strategic partnership with EFU Life, marking its entry into the insurance sector. According to a statement released Tuesday, EFU Life's offerings will soon be integrated into Neem Paymenow, a Shariah-compliant earned wage access platform. This will help employees access and pay for Islamic insurance products, like life, health, and accident coverage, directly within the platform where they receive their salaries, the startup said. With Neem's 'Payment Button', EFU Life customers can pay digitally via cards, wallets, bank transfers etc. Payments are auto-matched to policy numbers, reducing manual errors and delays, which speeds up reconciliation and minimises manual effort, the company said. Neem is also helping EFU Life build a white-labeled wallet system. It will allow customers to store funds, top up through various methods, and use those funds for premium payments, policy purchases, and claims disbursements. 'The integration of Neem's payment platform has helped us reimagine how premiums are collected—making the process faster, more secure, and customer-friendly,' said Azeem Pirani, COO at EFU Life. 'By digitizing this critical touchpoint, we're improving efficiency for our teams and convenience for our policyholders, while laying the foundation for a more inclusive insurance experience,' he added. Pakistan's Neem secures $4mn credit facility from DNI Group Why insurance? Speaking to Business Recorder, Nadeem Shaikh, co-founder at Neem, explained that 'insurance stood out as a critical sector where both access and digital infrastructure are limited.' 'It's also a key pillar of financial well-being, yet remains largely underpenetrated. By entering this space, we saw a clear opportunity to simplify access to insurance and digitise the entire value chain—from premium collection to claims—through embedded payments and wallet infrastructure.' 'This not only helps insurers go live faster but also improves operational efficiency and opens up new revenue opportunities, while making insurance more accessible and seamless for their customers, millions of Pakistani people,' he added. In its statement, Neem said that despite a growing need for financial protection in Pakistan, the sector remains underdeveloped, with penetration still below 1% of GDP, far behind regional standards. This is partly due to outdated, cash-heavy processes and Neem is solving these challenges by directly embedding a robust digital payment and wallet infrastructure into the insurance journey. Neem plans to work with other insurers in the future to embed digital payments and wallets into their offerings. Shaikh also told Business Recorder that Neem is sector-agnostic, and focuses on embedding financial products where they're most needed. Beyond insurance, Neem is already active across key sectors including healthcare (Sehat Kahani), logistics (Smartlane, TCS), mobility (ezBike), agriculture (Bakhabar Kissan, Farm2Home), education (Edkasa), retail (Sana Safinaz, Union Fabrics), lifestyle (Davaam, Padelverse) and e-commerce ( Fenrir, EcommDeals). 'Going forward, we'll deepen our presence in these verticals through strategic partnerships and tailored financial solutions,' he said.
