With a lot of noise hapening on investments in the data analytics industry, Pakistan has started to show some high-pitched tech startups that offer AI-powered data analytics solutions across various industries.
One example is the Metric app, which has attained huge media coverage in the past week because of the unique value it creates for small businesses in accounting services.
The startup pitches $900,000
The app has successfully gained attention from venture capitalists (VCs), both local and international, acquiring funding worth $900,000 from i2i Ventures- a VC investing in early-stage technology startups and other VCs including Ratio Ventures, Deosai Ventures, Kinnow Capital, Outliers Venture Capital and Augmentor Capital.
This huge investment reflects the confidence in Metric that could solve critical problems faced by Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) in the MENAP region- Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan.
Metric will do Accounting for you
Metric is designed to make procedures of modern accounting easy through automating the accounting process using Business Intelligence (BI) tools. BI is a data analytics technology that converts raw data into actionable information for intelligent decision making.
In short, within Metric, automation will do accounting on your part making the process of obscure analytics easy for anyone who is not aware of the modern accounting concepts.
The android application is available for free as well as in a paid version which has some additions that incorporate for example the ability to integrate data from across different sources.
The app is available for just PKR15,000 per month, which the founder and CEO Mennah Tariq says is cheaper than hiring an accountant.
Mennah Tariq along with co-founder and Managing Director Omar Parvez Khan recently showed up at Muzamil Hassan’s podcast on youtube ‘Thought Behind Things’ where the fintech duo talked about their company and the app in detail.
Metric automates accounting for startups and businesses solving the need to hire an accountant on day 1, summarized the CEO.
Omar also elaborated on the role of Metric for small businesses explaining that the role of accounting in business is based on two tasks, first is the book keeping which is the record keeping of day to day transactions, and second is the data analysis and insights extraction.
Metric offers comprehensive bookkeeping along two sides, along sales and expenses of business.
Omar explains the value Metric creates in analytics side saying ”Not only does it track core metrics such as CAC (customer acquisition cost), AOV (average order value), CLV (customer lifetime value), growth and retention — it proactively helps business owners make strategic decisions that enable them to take their business to the next level”
In comparison to other analytics features available at other platforms, such as shopify, where insights from the sales side of a business are displayed, the expense side is not covered there.
The CEO added, Metric could analyze the current market environment, and offer insights based on a comparative analysis.
Talking more about the user-friendly features of the app, the co-founders mentioned AI to be an essential driver of the app, that enables users to upload receipt images and the app’s engine will scan through the image and read the information to store it. In future versions of the app, AI will be used to decode voice notes too.
Metric’s journey and its founders
Both founders, Mennah Tariq and Omar Parvez Khan have rich experience in the startup ecosystem of Pakistan and a working exposure with over thousand small businesses in the last decade, according to a Dawn report.
Not just in Pakistan, the duo has also worked in other burgeoning markets such as Bangladesh, Iraq, Maynmar, and Vietnam
Meenah, while conversing with Muzamil mentioned that she felt a need for an easy to use and affordable accounting system while she was training over 800 entrepreneurs in remote areas of Pakistan. She elaborated that these were the people who are necessity entrepreneurs (the ones who use business to fulfill their basic needs) and lacked essential resources on establishing their business.
The CEO and co-founder Omar who happens to be a chartered accountant were keen to announce the Metric app established for these struggling entrepreneurs as a way to support them in their startup journey.
In a press release, the third co-founder, Dr. Habiba, who is the chief technology officer CTO and a PhD in machine learning and Artificial intelligence talks about the value proposition of Metric saying:
“There are over 30m SMBs and startups in the MENAP region, contributing $2 trillion to the region’s GDP (gross domestic product).”
Adding here she said:
“However, most founders are held hostage by their fear of numbers and cannot afford high-quality accountants. Current accounting software solutions are either cost prohibitive or are designed for accountants to use, not founders. As a result, their businesses suffer and fail to grow.“
The VCs believe in the power of founder-friendly and affordable solution from Metric and envision the technology startup as a global success in the future.
