Asif Jafri is a tech entrepreneur with a passion for alleviating poverty through digital and financial inclusion. As the founder and CEO of Kistpay—a platform tackling socio-economic gaps through smartphone financing—Asif is an alum of IoBM and the Founder Institute in Silicon Valley. His career spans key roles at American Express Bank, Asian Capital Management, Union Bank, Unilever, and Telenor, alongside co-founding E.ocean, a leading cloud communication platform, and going on to establish Momentum, a startup ecosystem, marking his path in Fintech.
Asif is listed as a proud signatory of the UN Women Empowerment Program and won a competition by the Islamic Development Bank Group for pitching his solution to revolutionize the digital and financial landscape. Under his visionary leadership, Kistpay has been featured in a World Bank report and mentioned in the GSMA Mobile Economy Asia Pacific report for its efforts in closing the digital divide. It has also twice earned a Top 10 Finalist position in the UNDP’s SDG Digital GameChangers Award (2023 & 2024), collaborated with GSMA for the Global Smartphone Affordability Coalition, is recognized as an ITU Partner2Connect Digital Coalition member, and achieved many other international milestones. He has successfully scaled operations to target emerging markets in Bangladesh, Mexico, Thailand, and Africa. He has also partnered with UNDP for D4SD—Digital Inclusion and Sustainable Development in Arab States.
