Dbank, a Pakistan-based fintech firm, has raised $17.6 million in a seed round co-led by Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia and Kleiner Perkins. Other participants included Nubank, Askari Bank, and Rayn.

Founded in 2021 by Tania Aidrus and Khurram Jamali, Dbank aims to expand the reach of financial services in Pakistan using ethical banking practices. They plan to use the investment to drive the startup’s bank operations and support its team.

According to the startup, the State Bank of Pakistan - the country’s central bank - has made efforts over the years to modernize payment infrastructure and increase financial inclusion in the country. As a result, Pakistan developed Raast, a real-time payments system for instant digital transactions and built NADRA, a digital identity platform.

The Central Bank also introduced a new banking digital license, allowing more entities to serve as banks and take deposits from customers without having to have physical centers. Dbank applied to become a digital retail bank in Pakistan.

Investments in Pakistani startups have reached a record of $284 million in H1 2022, up from $375 million recorded in all of 2021, according to data gathered by Pakistani startup funding advisory company Alpha Beta Core (ABCore). Fintech and e-commerce are the most funded sectors in the country, with fintech startups such as Abhi, which raised $17 million this year, and NayaPay, which secured $13 million in 2022, receiving a significant share of the funding.