Epic Angels Backs Neem to Power Pakistan’s Shift from Cash to Digital Payments

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 capable of delivering outsized impact in emerging markets.

Strategic Importance for Pakistan’s Digital Economy

Neem’s growth mirrors broader national priorities:

• RAAST, Pakistan’s instant payment rail, is laying the foundation for real-time digital payments
• The SBP has steadily expanded EMI and PSP licensing frameworks
• Government and private sector initiatives increasingly focus on digitising SMEs and supply chains

By enabling businesses to digitise money flows end-to-end, Neem sits at the intersection of:

• Financial inclusion
• SME digitisation
• Enterprise automation
• Regulatory-compliant fintech infrastructure

This positions Neem not just as a payments company, but as a core infrastructure layer for Pakistan’s evolving digital economy.

What This Means for the Ecosystem

For founders:
Neem demonstrates that infrastructure-first fintech models — while slower to build — can attract global capital when paired with strong execution and regulatory alignment.

For investors:
Pakistan’s fintech opportunity is moving beyond wallets and consumer apps toward API-driven, B2B infrastructure, where long-term defensibility is higher.

For enterprises and SMEs:
Unified collections, payouts, and reconciliation can significantly reduce operational friction and unlock better financial visibility.

A Signal Moment for Pakistan’s Fintech Maturity

Epic Angels’ investment in Neem is more than a single funding announcement — it is a signal that Pakistan’s fintech ecosystem is entering an infrastructure phase.

As cash-heavy markets transition toward digital systems, platforms like Neem will play a foundational role in enabling scale, transparency, and efficiency across entire industries.

If execution continues at its current pace, Neem has the potential to become one of the cornerstone fintech infrastructure companies powering Pakistan’s next decade of digital growth.

About Neem
Neem is a Pakistan-based full-stack payments infrastructure platform enabling businesses to
digitize money flows through collections, disbursements, and branded wallets via a single API.
They serve enterprise and SME customers starting off with high volume industries like logistics,
insurance, healthcare, e-commerce, and agriculture. Since launching in January 2025, the
platform has grown rapidly, supporting 50+ B2B businesses and processing high-volume
transactions while remaining compliant with evolving regulatory frameworks, including
Pakistan’s RAAST instant payment rail.

About Epic Angels
Epic Angels, the largest female-only investment collective investing in APAC and LATAM and
the 4th most active angel network in Asia, is on a mission to democratize angel investing and
make early-stage startups investments accessible to all. Their goal is to empower women
through education and a peer-community, giving them the confidence to make informed
investment decisions. They support early stage, female-led startups in APAC and LATAM with
capital, mentoring and a global network. The network counts over 800 female angel investors
and has made 44 investments till date across industries.