CarFirst, a start-up that sells used cars on an online auction platform, has raised one of Pakistan’s biggest series ‘A’ funding (first round of financing for start-ups by private investors). The funding was provided by the Frontier Car Group (Delaware LLC) which build and operate marketplaces for used cars in emerging markets. The group is run by European entrepreneurs and investors and operate in Chile, Germany, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey. Their aim is to increase efficiency of selling and buying cars in challenging environments through technology implementation.

Launched in 2016, CarFirst aim to provide car sellers with a safe, hassle-free process to have their cars inspected and sold at a fair price within an hour. Although the precise amount of the funding was not revealed, Raja Murad Khan, Founder, CarFirst, says that the funding will be used to increase the number of inspection centres (initially in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad) and eventually across the country. A major chunk will be used for operational costs and advertising.

“A larger network requires more partners who purchase from us and we are also looking to develop a larger sales team and warehousing. We are aiming to increase revenue by over 300% by the end of 2017,” says Khan.