KARACHI: Start-up investments in the first half of 2021 amounted to $128 million, which is the highest recorded in any six-month period. According to investment advisory firm AlphaBetaCore, the start-up funding in January-June exceed­­ed the amount raised for the last three years combined.

In an infographic posted on social media on Thursday, the company said e-commerce was the highest-funded sector with reported deal flows of $39m. This reflects a share of 30 per cent in total funds raised during the six months.

Fin-tech was the second most attractive sector with funds raised totalling $30m, reflecting a share of 23pc. Half of the fin-tech funds were raised by formal e-money platforms.

Transport, ed-tech and health-tech and “others” had respective shares of 16pc, 10pc, 7pc and 14pc. The average ticket size per deal remained $3.5m, up three times from a year ago.

The period under review recorded a sharp turn towards Series A funding, which signifies the start-up market is getting deeper. Series A funding, which is raised by a business after developing a track record, constituted a 57pc share followed by seed funding (36pc) and pre-seed funding (6pc).

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2021