Karachi-based startup OkayKer has announced that it has successfully raised $700,000 in seed funding to expand its operations and introduce the first automotive emergency service in Pakistan. The funding will allow OkayKer to further develop its end-to-end platform, which connects car owners with maintenance workshops, and addresses the challenges faced by both car owners and service providers.
Founded by Nashit Iqbal, Hasnain Akber, Asjad Amin, and Anusha Shahid, OkayKer has garnered support from multiple institutional investors, including Orbit Startups, Cur8 Capital, FRIM Venture, and Sabr Capital. The founding team brings a wealth of experience in building and scaling startups, having worked with successful ventures such as Careem, Daraz, and FindMyAdventure.
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OkayKer’s mission is to support the approximately 500,000 workshops and parts retailers run by skilled technicians in Pakistan. These workshops often suffer from low utilization rates, limited customer access, and a lack of digital presence and expertise. Simultaneously, OkayKer aims to provide convenience to car owners who spend significant time at workshops, often concerned about potential scams.
The automotive industry in Pakistan serves around 150 million vehicle owners, who spend an average of 40 hours each year searching for mechanics, electricians, and spare parts, relying on workshops to repair and maintain their vehicles. OkayKer’s platform aims to increase workshop utilization and revenue while offering car owners the convenience of on-location maintenance and a warranty for the work performed.
OkayKer’s mobile application allows customers to book appointments, while their enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, OkayCore, empowers workshops to manage transactions, attract new customers, source spare parts, and access various business tools, including payment gateways and financial services.
Despite initially processing just three orders per day, OkayKer has made significant strides, having successfully fixed over 10,000 cars in the past 26 months. The company has onboarded more than 250 vendors, supplying 30,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) across Karachi, with a network of 850 workshops spread throughout the city.
During this period, OkayKer claims to have served more than 7,500 car owners and boosted workshops’ take-home revenue by an impressive 110 percent by maximizing their utilization rates.
OkayKer is actively working on forming partnerships with lubricant brands and has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mobil to combat the issue of counterfeit products in the market.
Looking ahead, OkayKer aims to expand its presence across Pakistan, starting from Karachi and extending all the way to Khunjerab, while simultaneously launching the country’s first automotive emergency service through its extensive network of workshops. With their innovative platform and commitment to transforming the car maintenance industry, OkayKer is poised to revolutionize the way car owners and workshops interact and enhance the overall customer experience in Pakistan.
