Pakistan’s fintech ecosystem continues to gain global attention. In a significant vote of confidence, Epic Angels, the world’s largest all-female angel investment collective has invested in Neem, a Pakistan-based full-stack payments infrastructure platform focused on digitising business payments at scale. The investment forms part of Neem’s Pre-Series A round, alongside new investors DNI Group, Hi2 Global, and AKD, with continued support from existing seed backers SparkLabs Ventures, Outrun Ventures, Arif Habib, and MyAsiaVC, as well as strategic angels from Stripe, PayNet, Aspire, and other global fintech leaders. The fresh capital will be deployed to scale Neem’s technology infrastructure, strengthen cybersecurity and compliance, expand enterprise partnerships, and accelerate onboarding across key sectors including logistics, insurance, healthcare, e-commerce, and agriculture. Why Payments Infrastructure Is a Massive Opportunity in Pakistan Despite having a population exceeding 250 million, Pakistan remains one of the most cash-dominant economies in the region. According to data from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP): Over 70% of transaction value still flows through cash and over-the-counter channels Less than 25% of adults actively use digital payment instruments Businesses often juggle multiple PSPs, banks, and manual processes to collect payments and pay vendors This fragmentation creates: Operational inefficiencies Delayed settlements Manual reconciliation Limited real-time financial visibility for enterprises and SMEs At the same time, Pakistan has one of the youngest populations globally, with ~60% under the age of 30, and rapidly rising smartphone and internet penetration, making the country structurally ready for digital financial infrastructure. Source: State Bank of Pakistan, Digital Payments Review; World Bank Global Findex Neem’s Solution: A Full-Stack Payments Platform Built for Local Complexity Neem is tackling this challenge by building a full-stack payments infrastructure that enables businesses to manage: Collections (customer payments) Disbursements (vendor payments, payouts, payroll) Embedded and branded wallets RAAST instant payment integration Reconciliation and reporting all through a single API, similar in concept to platforms like Stripe, Adyen, or Checkout.com, but purpose-built for Pakistan’s regulatory, banking, and operational realities. Founded by Vladimira Briestenska, Nadeem Shaikh, and Naeem Zamindar, Neem’s founding team brings deep experience across: Global fintech and payments Banking and compliance Regulatory engagement in emerging markets Neem commercially launched its core products in January 2025 and has since: Grown transaction volumes by 30%+ month-on-month Onboarded 50+ B2B businesses Focused on high-volume, operationally complex sectors like logistics, insurance, healthcare, e-commerce, and agriculture Funding History: Neem’s Journey So Far While the current round marks Neem’s Pre-Series A, it builds on strong early validation from reputable regional and global investors. Previous Funding Seed Round: Backed by SparkLabs Ventures, Outrun Ventures, Arif Habib, and MyAsiaVC Strategic angels from Stripe, PayNet, Aspire, and other payments leaders provided not just capital, but deep domain expertise This mix of local financial institutions, global fintech operators, and emerging-market investors reflects confidence in Neem’s positioning as an infrastructure-layer company rather than a consumer fintech. Why Epic Angels Invested Epic Angels’ thesis aligns closely with Neem’s market opportunity. “Big players like Stripe and Adyen collectively hold less than 10% of the global payments market and are focused on established markets, leaving a massive opportunity for local platforms like Neem,”— Maaike Doyer, Founding & Managing Partner, Epic Angels “We’re proud to welcome Epic Angels as an investor in Neem,” said Vladimira Briestenska, Co-founder of Neem. “They have been a trusted partner and sounding board, bringing deep global experience and strong conviction in Pakistan and emerging markets. Having Epic Angels alongside us strengthens our ambition to build a leading payments infrastructure platform for Pakistan and beyond, with a clear focus on enabling businesses to move from cash to digital at scale.” Epic Angels highlighted: Neem’s early traction with large enterprises Strong demand from sectors like logistics, insurance, and agriculture The absence of deeply integrated, local payments infrastructure players in Pakistan The long-term opportunity to become the financial operating system for businesses For Epic Angels — which has 800+ female investors globally and has made 44 investments across APAC and LATAM — Neem represents the type of infrastructure-led fintech capab