Naseeb Networks, a Pakistani consumer Internet company, has raised $2 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. This includes the “undisclosed” amount announcwed last week by ePlanet Ventures. Other backers include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Mark Pincus and Reid Hoffman. Naseeb provides such services as online recruitment, social networking and classifieds for the Pakistan market. Here is the press release that Naseeb previously put out:
PRESS RELEASE
ePlanet Ventures, the world's leading global venture capital firm headquartered in
“We have seen strong growth in user metrics and financial receipts across our portfolio of online services,” said Monis Rahman, Founder and CEO of Naseeb Networks. “This funding round provides growth capital and domain expertise from two clear leaders in global venture capital, which will enable us to further dominate our target markets and seize emerging market opportunities.”
“We're excited about the progress and momentum that Monis and his team have achieved in the market,” said Haque. “Naseeb Networks, through its portfolio of Internet properties and revenue generating brands including Naseeb.com, ROZEE.PK and RingPakistan.com, is a leader in a market that is poised for considerable growth. Our investment in Naseeb will help the Company build upon its commanding position.” He added that, “The Company's business model is consistent with ePlanet's global replication emphasis and represents a unique investment to capture the inflection point in Internet growth in Pakistan.”
Commenting on the occasion, Asad Jamal, Chairman and CEO of ePlanet Ventures, said, “We have been closely monitoring developments in the Internet sector in Pakistan for a long time, and we believe it will soon experience a wave of explosive growth. As such, we are delighted with the opportunity to invest and work with Naseeb, to grow it into the leading consumer Internet company in the region.”
Naseeb Networks operates a portfolio of websites including ROZEE.PK and Naseeb.com. ROZEE.PK is Pakistan's largest and fastest growing job portal. The site has delivered over 1.4 million applications to jobs posted by 8,800 employers. ROZEE.PK is used by some of Pakistan's most sought after employers to recruit human capital, including Mobilink, Nestle, Oracle, McDonalds, United Bank Limited, Microsoft, GlaxoSmithKlein, Engro Foods, Mentor Graphics, Teradata, Proctor & Gamble and others. ROZEE.PK offers employers recruiting solutions including placement of online job ads, access to powerful CV search engine technology, online recruitment workflow management tools and white-labeled corporate job portals.
The company's flagship Internet property, Naseeb.com, offers matchmaking and social networking services for the Pakistani and Arab diaspora communities. With over 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide, Naseeb.com has achieved a leadership position in a huge market. The site's features include blogging, instant messaging, photo and music sharing, and an innovative algorithm that matches members based on common cultural norms.
Commenting on the market opportunity, Rahman said, “Pakistan's current Internet penetration is around 7.5% compared to India's 4.5%. With over USD $500 million recently invested here in broadband and WiMAX infrastructure, we are projecting Internet penetration to increase to around 16% over the next three years. We will leverage our leadership position to generate cross traffic for other key online services for the benefit of Pakistan's vibrant Internet community.”
Naseeb Networks, which has been cash flow positive since 2004, has 42 employees across its offices in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and San Jose and a management team transplanted from Silicon Valley.
ABOUT EPLANET VENTURES
ePlanet Ventures is a leading global venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, with international offices in London, New Delhi, Bangalore, Singapore, Shanghai, and Beijing, as well as a presence in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo. ePlanet Ventures has funded over 80 innovative high-growth companies world-wide, including landmark deals Baidu (NASDAQ listing in August 2005, presently circa. US$12B market cap), Skype (sold to eBay for approx. US$3B in 2005), and Focus Media (NASDAQ listing 2005, presently circa. US$6B market cap). ePlanet is one of the leaders in promoting the cross-border migration of technological innovation, business models and entrepreneurship. The Firm has made investments in sectors such as the Internet (consumer Internet, Internet services and applications), wireless communications and applications, VoIP and other broadband services, entertainment, semiconductor design, life sciences and other emerging services sectors. ePlanet also seeks to make investments in traditional, established industries where business-model improvements have the power to create category-dominant companies in the world's fastest growing markets. The firm has won the China Venture Capital Association Exit of the Year 2005 for Baidu, and the European Venture Capital Association Deal of the Year 2005 Award for Skype, and has been profiled in FORBES Feb. 2007 as a 'Pioneer in Global Venture Capital.'
ABOUT NASEEB NETWORKS
Naseeb Networks provides leading community, communications and e-commerce services to underserved Internet markets. The company currently enjoys a leadership position in its target markets including online recruitment ( www.rozee.pk ), social networking ( www.naseeb.com ) and classifieds related services for Pakistan and its associated diaspora community.
The company commenced operations in 2003 with a seed round from angel investors including founders and executives from Paypal, LinkedIn, Excite and Cisco. Naseeb Networks has been profitable since 2004 and currently has 42 employees at offices in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and San Jose.
Naseeb Networks was founded by Internet entrepreneur Monis Rahman in 2003, when he returned to Pakistan to start the company after a 10 year stint in Silicon Valley. Rahman began his career at Intel Corporation where he was awarded several patents for his innovative work on the Itanium microprocessor. He went on to co-found eDaycare which was acquired by ParentWatch in 2000. Rahman has a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin
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