QistBazaar raises Rs500m through privately placed Sukuk

KARACHI: QistBazaar, a leading Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and installment-financing platforms, has successfully raised PKR 500 million through a privately placed Sukuk, marking the first tranche in a planned series of Sukuk issuances by the company. This inaugural PKR 500 million issuance is the first in a planned series of Sukuk through which QistBazaar intends to institutionalize its funding base and finance the next phase of its growth. By building a repeatable channel to Shariah-compliant capital, the company aims to scale its financing portfolio, reduce reliance on traditional bank funding, and widen access to affordable consumer finance across Pakistan The transaction represents Pakistan’s first unrated, privately placed Sukuk of its kind and marks an important milestone for QistBazaar as it expands its access to institutional capital. Dada Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to QistBazaar and led the capital raise, placing the issue in full with investors sourced through the deep, long-standing institutional relationships of its Founder and Managing Partner, Shazad Dada. The Sukuk was subscribed by the Alfalah Shariah Private Financing Fund-I, managed by Alfalah Asset Management Company (Alfalah AMC), acting as the investment vehicle through which these investors participated in the issuance. Al Hamd Shariah Advisory Services (Private) Limited were the Shariah advisor certifying the structure, Pak Brunei Investment Company Limited acted as the Investment Agent, and Akhund Forbes the legal counsel on the transaction. Raising capital through a secured but unrated instrument for QistBazaar reflects investor confidence in the strength of its business model, management team, track record and future growth prospects. The transaction also represents an important step in the company’s evolution from a rapidly growing BNPL platform toward a larger, institutionally funded financial services business. The PKR 500 million raised will be deployed toward expanding QistBazaar’s Shariah-compliant consumer installment financing portfolio, enabling the company to extend affordable financing solutions to more underserved and unbanked consumers across Pakistan. The additional capital will support increased financing origination, expansion of the company’s merchant network, entry into new product categories and a wider geographic footprint. Arif Lakhani, co-Founder QistBazaar, said that this Sukuk represents much more than a new source of capital for QistBazaar. The confidence shown by corporate and high-net-worth investors validates the business we have built and the opportunity that lies ahead. This funding gives us greater capacity to serve more customers, expand our reach and bring more Pakistanis into the formal financial system, he added. It also reflects the evolving role of Islamic finance in supporting businesses that are addressing gaps in financial access. By channelling institutional capital toward consumer financing, structures such as Sukuk can help connect Pakistan’s capital markets with the financing needs of consumers who have historically remained outside the formal financial system. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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