12 Pakistanis Who Made it to Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2021

12 Pakistanis have made it to the 2021 Forbes 30 under 30 list for Asia. These Pakistani youngsters have been included in the list for their noteworthy contributions in the fields of entertainment, sports, media, marketing, advertising, social impact, enterprise technology, retail, and e-commerce.
Here are the brilliant Pakistani minds that have featured on the Forbes 30 under 30 for Asia:
Abdullah Siddiqui

Abdullah Siddiqui, 20, has been included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Asia in the category of entertainment and sports.

Abdullah started producing English-language electronic music at the age of 11 and began releasing it as an independent artist when he was 16.

The native of Lahore has appeared on Nescafé Basement, a Pakistani TV series that showcases the music of underground artists.
He has written and produced music for some prominent singers in Pakistan, including Fawad Khan, Meesha Shafi, Shamoon Ismail, and Aima Baig.

                                                                                   Shayan Mahmud

Shayan Mahmud, 29, has been included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Asia in the category of media, marketing, and advertising.

Shayan is the managing partner of Eikon7, an advertising and digital marketing agency with offices in Pakistan as well as Romania, Rwanda, and the UAE.

Aside from helping the agency grow to more than 100 employees in Pakistan, Mahmud oversees Trademor, an Eikon7 subsidiary that helps small and medium-sized enterprises with sales and marketing on e-commerce platforms like China’s Alibaba.
Iman Jamall and Hasib Malik

Iman Jamall and Hasib Malik, both 28, have been included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Asia in the category of social impact.
The husband-and-wife duo founded CreditBook, a fintech application that aims to empower micro, small and medium-sized businesses across Pakistan.

CreditBook helps small business owners manage their finances by tracking cash received and payments pending with automated payment reminders sent out to customers.

Within six months after launch, CreditBook has registered over 250,000 users and raised $175,000 in pre-seed funding from investors in Pakistan’s financial and retail sectors.

                                                     Yaseen Khalid, Saquib Malik, and Nabeel Siddiqui

Yaseen Khalid, 27, Saquib Malik, 28, and Nabeel Siddiqui, 27, have also been included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Asia in the category of social impact.
Yaseen, Saquib, and Nabeel cofounded ModulusTech, which offers an innovative flat-packed house that can be set up within a day by three people using simple hand tools.

Their alternative housing produces 50 times less greenhouse gas emissions compared to concrete buildings. The company hopes its solution can be used to provide homes to the poor, displaced, or homeless people.

ModulusTech has been recognized by the UN, Global Cleantech Award, and others and has received funding worth $20 million from the Islamic Development Bank and other international NGOs, as well as some angel investors.
Hannia Zia

Hannia Zia, 27, has been included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Asia in the category of enterprise technology.

Hannia is the Pakistani government’s sole product manager of its pandemic tech response and one of the three founding members of the Prime Minister’s Digital Pakistan program.

She launched a WhatsApp bot to spread COVID-19 awareness in seven local languages that has connected to 500,000 users and was endorsed by Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, as well as a COVID-19 ringtone, which has been heard by 113 million Pakistanis.

Hannia also grew the Health Ministry’s Facebook page a hundred-fold to 1.8 million followers. Prime Minister Imran Khan recognized Hannia for her contributions with a WHENTK award.

Saad Jangda and Hamza Jawaid
Saad Jangda and Hamza Jawaid, both 27, have been included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Asia in the category of retail and e-commerce.

In the depths of the Coronavirus pandemic in June 2020, Jawaid and Jangda cofounded Bazaar, a B2B e-commerce platform.

They have already built a team of over 300 employees. Their app connects more than 12,000 mom-and-pop grocery stores to wholesalers, manufacturers, and suppliers.

Bazaar has raised the largest pre-seed round in Pakistan and the largest seed round in the Middle East and North Africa region, totaling a combined $7.8 million.

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                                                                  Zohaib Ali and Owais Qureshi

Zohaib Ali and Owais Qureshi, both 29, have also been included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list for Asia in the category of retail and e-commerce.

Starting in strict lockdown conditions in 2020 with a total investment of $300,000, Owais and Zohaib set up Dastgyr, a B2B retail marketplace in Pakistan.

The startup is focused on solving inventory procurement challenges for more than 2 million retailers across the country. It allows users to purchase inventory from more than 2,000 products listed on the app and provides next-day doorstep delivery and microloans.

In a matter of months, cofounders Qureshi and Ali have shipped thousands of orders to more than 30,000 users across major cities in Pakistan.

So far, Dastgyr has raised $3.5 million from SOSV and other global investors. Previously, the duo was part of the team that helped found Airlift, a mass transit startup that raised a record $12 million in Series A in November 2019.

Overall, the 10th annual issue of Forbes features 300 young entrepreneurs, activists, scientists, and entertainers from all over Asia. The under 30 Asian trailblazers have raised over $1 billion in venture funding.