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).
