Fintech
Meet the 30 fintech entrepreneurs under 30 making it easier to access capital
Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia
Entrepreneurs featured on this year’s Finance & Venture Capital list empower consumers to finance their education and businesses.
“Study Now Pay Later” is the motto of EduFi, a Lahore-based startup run by Aleena Nadeem to help more Pakistanis go to university. Nadeem’s concept is simple. He realized that some paycheck-to-paycheck families couldn’t handle lump sum payments at the start of a semester, but could afford tuition paid monthly.
Nadeem is one of this year’s entrepreneurs 30 Under 30 Asia: Finance & Venture Capital list which make access to capital more convenient.
EduFi has partnered with 27 Pakistani universities (a number that has doubled in the last six months), which funnel potential customers. Conducts its own credit check, then pays tuition for approved students who repay the loan on a monthly basis while they study.
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London for Goldman Sachs and Ventura Capital, he has been dealing with educational issues since high school. She spent her summers with the Progressive Education Network, a Lahore-based nonprofit that runs schools for disadvantaged children. “My EduFi is an extension of the work I’ve been doing since I was a child,” says Nadeem, “trying to bring education to the masses.” This is a great need in Pakistan. According to a World Bank projection for 2021, only 13% of Pakistanis obtain a tertiary education.
After a successful pilot launch in 2021, Edufi began disbursing loans earlier this year. Investors were convinced: EduFi’s $6.1 million pre-seed round in November, led by Zayn VC, was the largest such round in Pakistani startup history.
There is also Pakistan, Sarkhail Bawany is the product manager at fintech company Abhi, which allows workers to withdraw a percentage of their salary before their next paycheck when they need emergency cash. Abhi works on a B2B2C model, partnering with companies like Unilever Pakistan to offer the service as a benefit to employees. Abhi has expanded into the Middle East and Bangladesh. The company also issued $6.8 million in Islamic bonds in May 2023, following a $17 million Series A in 2022. Bawany is also CEO of the startup’s payment services subsidiary, Abhipay.
Aalesh Avlani, co-founder of Credit Wise Capital.
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Another example is Aalesh Avlani, co-founder of the India-based finance company specializing in motorcycle loans, Credit Wise Capital (CWC). Founded in 2019, CWC secured $6 million in seed funding a year later. By using technologies such as a WhatsApp bot for credit scoring, CWC minimizes the application process and makes it easier for people with no credit history to obtain loans. “This has enabled several first-time credit buyers to own two-wheelers, which has resulted in improved agriculture, livelihoods, and education and skill development opportunities,” says Avlani. CWC’s customers are mainly located in tier 2, 3 and 4 cities of the country. The company is also expanding into personal loans and health insurance.
In Bangladesh, Abdul Gaffar Sadi, MD Tushar AND MD. Shahidul Islam founded Dhaka-based Drutoloan, which means “fast loan” in English. The company helps micro and small businesses obtain loans from banks and finance companies, helping them with paperwork and helping lenders assess creditworthiness. Since the start of 2019, the cofounders said the company has made more than $2 million in loans. It raised $125,000 in pre-seed funding in November.
Mikaela Helene Reyes, co-founder of Parallax.
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And to make it easier and cheaper to move money around the world, Mikaela Reyes co-founded Manila-based cross-border payments startup Parallax. She launched the company in 2023 after working as a freelancer and experiencing the hassle of being paid from another country. Parallax initially targeted users in the Philippines, but now has customers from over 150 countries. In September, Parallax raised $4.5 million in seed funding in a round led by Dragonfly Capital.
Check out our comprehensive 2024 30 Under 30 Asia: Finance and venture capital list Hereand the suit 2024 30 Under 30 Asia coverage, click Here.