LAAM Technologies, a Pakistan-based e-commerce platform specializing in South Asian fashion, has raised $5.5 million in an all-equity seed funding round. The round was led by Disrupt Ventures and Zayn VC, with participation from Graph Ventures, Mentors Fund, and technology leaders from Oracle, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce. The funds will support LAAM’s expansion into new markets and enhance its technology platform.
About LAAM
Founded in 2021 by Arif Iqbal and three co-founders, LAAM aims to bridge the gap between South Asian fashion and its global diaspora. Iqbal’s extensive experience at tech giants such as Meta, Pinterest, Microsoft, and eBay shaped his vision for the platform. While living in North America, Iqbal noted that South Asian expatriates often relied on family and friends to send ethnic wear, as local availability was limited. This realization, coupled with the untapped potential of Pakistan’s fashion industry, inspired him to return home and create LAAM.
LAAM now offers a curated catalog of over 100,000 items, including casual, ethnic, and formal wear, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and children. The platform connects close to 1,200 sellers—primarily from Pakistan—to a customer base spanning 100 countries, with key markets including the US, Canada, the UK, and the Middle East.
Empowering designers and scaling fashion
LAAM also plays a key role in Pakistan, giving the country’s fragmented fashion industry a way to reach new customers and grow faster. LAAM provides critical infrastructure for sellers including logistics, fulfillment and customs help, as well as tools to help sellers business tasks such as demand forecasting and inventory management.
LAAM fosters creativity by empowering designers and artisans, and supporting the livelihoods of more than 10,000 families. Each new designer who joins the platform adds to LAAM’s inventory – LAAM now sell more than 100,000 items to customers worldwide.
LAAM has achieved remarkable growth, with revenues doubling annually since its launch. Sellers on the platform have sold close to $100 million worth of products to over 500,000 customers in 100 countries. LAAM takes a cut of each sale, and also helps sellers build their own direct-to-consumer websites.
Accelerating growth
Iqbal is hopeful that LAAM’s first fundraising efforts will enable the company to accelerate its growth even further. The funds will be directed towards enhancing the platform’s underlying technology, including the development of artificial intelligence-powered features to assist sellers. Additionally, the company plans to establish a stronger local presence in its biggest markets, such as the US and Middle East, with the aim of improving the overall customer experience in these critical regions, as Iqbal explains.
LAAM is also determined to onboard more sellers, not only from Pakistan but from across South Asia, and to pursue a more aggressive go-to-market strategy. Much of the company’s success so far has stemmed from its savvy use of social media channels and SEO tools, leveraging Iqbal’s own tech industry expertise. Iqbal also notes that the tight-knit nature of South Asian communities can work to LAAM’s advantage, as successful sales to a few individuals can often lead to a much broader interest from the larger community.
Investors have taken a close interest in the company – and the potential size of the market. “LAAM’s ability to elevate South Asian fashion onto the global stage while empowering local artisans is commendable,” says Faisal Aftab, managing partner at Zayn VC. “We believe LAAM has a unique opportunity to transform how South Asian fashion is perceived and accessed globally.”
Aaqib Gadit, the managing partner at Disrupt Ventures, further highlighted how LAAM’s innovative solutions to logistical and operational challenges demonstrate the platform’s remarkable potential to redefine how this market is served.
