Internet penetration to rise 16 percent in three years
KARACHI (January 24 2008): Pakistan's current internet penetration is around 7.5 percent. This was stated by Monis Rahman, Chief Executive Officer of Naseeb Networks, in a statement on Wednesday. He said that with over 500 million dollar recently invested here in broadband and Wimax infrastructure, they are projecting inter-net penetration to increase to around 16 percent over the next three years.
Naseeb Network, a leading provider of online recruitment, social networking, classifieds and related services in Pakistan, has announced that it has secured Series B financing from two pre-eminent silicon Valley venture capital firms, ePlanet Ventures (ePlanet) and Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ).
Naseeb will use the funding to accelerate its growth and leadership position in target markets by investing in sales force and marketing expansion and enhancing its product portfolio.
"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."
The round was led by ePlanet with DFJ participating, pursuant to which Ayaz-ul-Haque, Managing Director at ePlanet and Mohanjit Jolly, Director At DFJ have joined Naseeb's board of directors. "We're excited about the progress and momentum that Monis and his team have achieved in the market," said Haque.
"Naseeb Networks, though its portfolio of Internet properties and revenue generating brands including Naseeb.com Rozee PK and Ring Pakistan.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 said.
"The company's business model is consistent with ePlanet's global replication emphasis and represents a unique investment to capture the inflection point in Inter-net growth in Pakistan," he commented.
Commenting on DFJ's participation, Jolly said, "Naseeb Networks has done a phenomenal job of bootstrapping its way to a leadership position. DFJ is proud to be associated with the Naseeb team. This infusion will not only cement the leadership position for Naseeb in social media but also help further catalyse the market in Pakistan and across the global Muslim diaspora."
He said, "By providing the best platform for interaction, collaboration and transaction, Naseeb Networks have the potential of being a truly significant player with a global footprint, both factors being hallmarks of DFJ investments."
Naseeb Networks operates a portfolio of web-sites 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 and Gamble and other.
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-labelled corporate job portals.
The company's flagship inter-net property, Naseeb.com, offers match marking 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 massaging 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 percent compared to India's 4.5 percent. With over USD $500 million recently invested here in broadband and WiMAX infrastructure, we are projecting Internet penetration to increase to around 16 percent 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 inter-net community."
Naseeb Networks, which have been cash flow positive since 2004, have 42 employees across its offices in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and San Jose and a management team transplanted form Silicon Valley.
Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]
