Syed Muhammad Asif Jafri

Speaker Bio

Asif Jafri is a tech entrepreneur with a passion for erasing gender disparities and promoting economic empowerment through digital and financial inclusion in Pakistan and globally. The founder & CEO of Kistpay, a platform tackling socio-economic gaps through smartphone financing and digital tools, is an IoBM and Founder Institute alum in Silicon Valley. His journey from key roles at American Express Bank, Asian Capital Management, Union Bank, Unilever and Telenor to co-founding E.ocean, a leading cloud communication platform and also advancing a startup ecosystem; Momentum, marked his path in Fintech.

A proud Signatory of the UN Women Empowerment Program, Asif’s leadership has earned global recognition. Kistpay has been featured in the World Bank report, highlighted in GSMA’s Mobile Economy Asia Pacific report, and twice ranked in the Top 10 SDG Digital GameChangers by UNDP. It was also a finalist in the BRICS Solutions Awards, 4YFN Awards, Global Connectivity Awards, and IEEE Future Networks. Asif partnered with GSMA for the Global Smartphone Affordability Coalition, is a member of the ITU Partner2Connect Digital Coalition, and has led Kistpay to win accolades from the Islamic Development Bank Group for his solution to revolutionize the Digital & financial landscape.

Under his visionary leadership, Kistpay has scaled operations to Bangladesh, Mexico, Thailand, and Africa, and forged global partnerships, including UNDP - D4SD | Digital Inclusion and Sustainable Development in Arab States and with GDIP to advance global digital inclusion. In a nutshell, Asif is all about erasing the digital gap, ensuring everyone is part of the digital and financial club.