Fintech is Empowering Youth, Women & Small Businesses

 

By Maheen Rahman | CEO, InfraZamin Pakistan & Nidal Ahmad Sheikh | Head of Business, InfraZamin Pakistan

 

Fintech is helping rewrite the story as it bypasses lengthy bank processes to provide quick solutions. JazzCash and EasyPaisa have revolutionized money transfers, bill payments and top-ups, each have over 15 million active users predominantly from lower-income groups.

The energy of Pakistan’s tech empowered youth is unmistakable. It is reflected in the rapid acceleration and adoption of online payments, branchless banking, e-commerce transactions, and mobile wallets. In 2024, online transactions increased by 66 percent year-on-year with a cumulative value of PKR 95.6 trillion (US$34 billion) which makes Pakistan a sizeable online payments market in Asia.1 A supportive regulatory framework, improved payments infrastructure and wider online product suite has enabled rapid adoption across a young demographic. 

A burgeoning Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has also taken advantage of digital channels’ reduced costs and higher efficiency. This has promoted entrepreneurship as well as encouraged women-led businesses. 

Traditional financial systems have historically excluded large segments of the population, particularly small businesses, young entrepreneurs, and women. This exclusion is not due to a lack of potential but rather due to rigid lending practices, stringent risk assessment, and limited support for those outside the formal financial system.

Now, however, we are witnessing a shift. Easy access to finance through mobile banking applications, telecom providers, and a host of fintechs is steadily changing how financial services are delivered in Pakistan. It is making finance more accessible, more adaptable, and ultimately, more inclusive.

The evidence of financial exclusion is well-documented. MSMEs account for over 90 percent of private enterprises in Pakistan and play a significant role in job creation and GDP growth, yet they remain underserved by institutional finance.2 Many are denied credit because they lack traditional collateral or formal financial histories. The absence of early-stage angel investors and venture capitalists means that entrepreneurs struggle to raise early-stage capital, and women face additional cultural and systemic barriers when attempting to access financial tools. As illustrated in the chart below, MSMEs play a foundational role in Pakistan’s economy, contributing roughly 40 percent to the GDP, nearly 80 percent to non-agricultural employment, and a significant share of export earnings.

© UNDP Pakistan

Fintech is helping rewrite this story by bypassing clunky bank processes to provide quick solutions. JazzCash and EasyPaisa have revolutionized money transfers, bill payments, and top-ups, each with over 15 million active users, predominantly from the lower-income segments of the population. For reference, the average mid-size bank in Pakistan has approximately 3 million retail customers. Start-ups such as CreditBook provide micro loans to SMEs and individuals that struggle under traditional banking channels. Abhi has introduced payroll financing, Nayapay supports SME financial management, and Mahana Wealth promotes wealth management.3 

At InfraZamin Pakistan, we work to support this shift by offering credit guarantees that reduce lending risk for financial institutions. By de-risking critical infrastructure projects, we enable financing to flow towards businesses and sectors often overlooked. For instance, our support for Multinet, a key fiber optic network provider, helped unlock long-term financing to expand their digital infrastructure.4 This, in turn, strengthened connectivity for numerous MSMEs and created new jobs with a specific focus on enhancing female employment. Similarly, our engagement with Jaffer Brother Systems (JBS), an essential IT infrastructure provider, involved guaranteeing a trade finance facility.5 This innovative structuring enabled JBS to secure vital financing for IT equipment and services crucial for sectors such as finance while also committing to job creation, with a significant portion of roles dedicated for women. Such interventions highlight how targeted credit solutions can drive business growth and deliver broader economic benefits.

For Pakistan’s youth and MSME sector, fintech offers meaningful entry points into the formal economy. Mobile banking allows for secure and convenient transactions. Crowdfunding is providing an alternative to traditional seed funding. Even the freelancing economy, now a major source of income for young workers, depends on the ease of digital payments. As the fintech industry itself grows, it is also creating new employment opportunities in areas like software development, analytics and financial product design.

Perhaps the most transformative impact we are seeing is in the financial inclusion of women. Traditional banking models have never fully accounted for the structural challenges women face, such as limited mobility, fewer opportunities to build credit histories, or social expectations that discourage financial independence.

Fintech, particularly mobile-based solutions, is beginning to close this gap. Women can now access and manage financial services directly through their phones, without the need to travel or rely on intermediaries. Digital wallets, micro-loans, and tailored products are helping women build businesses, support their families, and participate in the economy on their own terms.

A milestone in this area has been the Gender Bond issued by the Kashf Foundation, supported by InfraZamin.6 This was the first such bond in South Asia and has helped channel capital to tens of thousands of women-led businesses. The result is real economic impact, more financial independence, more jobs, and stronger communities. To date, approximately 39,000 loans have been disbursed to women-owned businesses, resulting in the creation of around 9,000 jobs through the bond proceeds.

Progress like this depends on more than innovation alone. The State Bank of Pakistan’s supportive policies have helped fintech grow responsibly, while investments in digital infrastructure and inter operator payment systems have laid the essential networks. Collaboration between the public and private sectors continues to be critical.

Still, challenges remain. Financial and digital literacy needs strengthening, cybersecurity must keep pace, and rural and vulnerable communities cannot be left behind. Even so, the direction is clear. Fintech is unlocking opportunities for entrepreneurs, youth and women, helping build a more inclusive, resilient Pakistan.

1.    State Bank of Pakistan, ‘Annual Payments Systems Review – FY24’, 2024
2.    Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), Pakistan
3.    Invest2Innovate Ecosystem – The Fintech Landscape in Pakistan: Progress and Potential, 2025
4.    InfraZamin, ‘Greater Digital Reach and Transmission across Pakistan’. Available at: https://infrazamin.com/portfolio/greater-digital-reach-and-transmission-across-pakistan/
5.    InfraZamin, ‘Guaranteed Trade Finance Facility‘. Available at: https://infrazamin.com/portfolio/guaranteed-trade-finance-facility/
6.    InfraZamin, ‘Pakistan’s first AAA rated, fully Guaranteed Gender Bond’. Available at https://infrazamin.com/portfolio/pakistans-first-aaa-rated-fully-guaranteed-gender-bond/