Most fintechs chased hype. Abhi chased cash flow.
In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, we sit down with Omair Ansari, Co-Founder & CEO of Abhi, one of Pakistan’s fastest-growing fintechs.
Abhi began with earned wage access, giving workers instant liquidity. Today, it has scaled into payroll financing, SME lending, and invoice factoring — and even acquired a licensed microfinance bank in Pakistan to materially lower its cost of funds.
We explore:
- Why profitability and cost of capital decide who survives fintech’s winter
- How Abhi scaled from earned wage access into a full-stack working capital platform
- Pakistan as the anchor, GCC as the growth frontier
- The real potential (and limits) of tokenization & private credit
- Why licences and compliance, not glossy apps, are the true moat in fintech
- How embedded finance at payroll and receivables lowers costs and expands inclusion
This is more than a growth story — it’s a blueprint for building durable fintech in emerging markets.
🎧 Full episode now streaming on YouTube, Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
Couchonomics with Arjun Season 04 is brought to you by our partners:
Adyen https://www.adyen.com/
Thunes https://thunes.com/
Mastercard https://mastercard.com/
E& https://www.eand.com/
Digit9 https://www.digitnine.com/
SC Ventures https://scventures.io/
Hala https://hala.com/
chapters:
00:00 Episode Highlights
00:59 Welcome to Couchonomics
02:19 FinTech Evolution and Market Dynamics
06:28 Business Model Adaptations
12:21 Manual Operations and Testing
14:34 Credit Models and Market Realities
17:24 Funding and Capital Challenges
23:54 Regulatory Landscape and Innovations
27:38 Navigating Regulatory Challenges
29:14 The Debate on Fintech Regulation
32:07 Embedded Finance: Progress and Challenges
35:24 The Future of Banking and Fintech
38:44 Crypto and Digital Assets in Emerging Markets
43:27 Expanding into Pakistan: Opportunities and Risks
46:52 Strategic Focus and Future Vision
51:41 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Our website 👉 https://bit.ly/3jk7UH0
Find us on our social media platforms:
Subscribe to Arjun's LinkedIn newsletter, Couchonomics Crunch: https://bit.ly/3WI4A6E