Pakistan’s FindMyAdventure raises six-figure seed funding for its online travel marketplace

Karachi-based online travel marketplace FindMyAdventure has raised seed funding from a Middle East-based investor, the startup announced in a statement to MENAbytes today. The investment came from a Middle East-based individual investor who has background in private equity. FindMyAdventure did not disclose the exact size of investment but has told MENAbytes that it’s a six-figure US dollar amount.

Founded in 2016 by Husnain Habib Malik, Khawaja Raza Abbas, Komail Naqvi, Shozab Naqvi and Syed Haider Raza, FindMyAdventure claims to be the first Pakistani online travel marketplace that enables users to discover, search, compare and book trips, tours, and travel experiences all across Pakistan at different price points. The users can search by type of activity or location to book pre-arranged trips and tours or have FindMyAdvernture’s team create a customized travel experience for them by sharing some details and their preferences.

Since launching less than three years ago, FindMyAdventure has helped over 8,500 customers book different types of trips ranging from one-day city tours to a month-long mountaineering expedition, its co-founder and CEO Komail Naqvi told MENAbytes. The startup that currently employs over 15 people in its two offices in Karachi and Lahore is working with over 100 tour operators who are selling their trips and travel on the platform.

Komail added that the investment will be deployed to fund FindMyAdventure’s existing operations and further scale them throughout Pakistan, “In its next stage of operations, FindMyAdventure aims to curate new experiences, develop quality supply and reach out to potential tourists interested in exploring Pakistan on a greater scale.”

After improvement in the security situation of Pakistan, tourism in the country has been on the rise. According to a report by Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, the number of international tourists visiting Pakistan reached 1.75 million in 2017, a 300% increase from the numbers in 2013. The number of domestic travelers also increased by 30% during the same period to reach 38.3 million in 2017.

This positive trend offers a very big opportunity for travel startups in the country and that is perhaps one of the reasons why investors are putting their money into them.