Forbes has released its 30 Under 30 Asia list for 2026, recognising a group of Pakistan-based and Pakistan-origin achievers across technology, finance, science, and social impact categories. The publication describes the honourees as changemakers across ten categories who are transforming their industries, and the inclusion of multiple profiles with strong Pakistani connections reflects the growing visibility of talent from the country on one of the region’s most closely watched annual recognition platforms.
In the consumer and enterprise technology category, Syed Ismail was recognised for cofounding Karachi-based Saraaf in 2021, a platform built to digitise commodity sourcing and bring greater transparency to a sector that has historically operated through informal and opaque channels. Saraaf is preparing to launch a mobile application for businesses sourcing materials such as onyx and cotton from Central and South Asia, offering real-time pricing, shipment tracking, digitised contracts, and live communication tools. The venture secured a 5.3 million dollar investment commitment from Shark Tank Pakistan in 2024, providing both capital and significant national visibility for a platform addressing a commercially consequential market gap.
The finance and venture capital category features Muhammad Furqan Karim Kidwai and Sarfraz Shahid Hussain, cofounders of Singapore-based Plouton AI, an agentic automation platform backed by Antler Singapore that helps midmarket companies automate finance workflows including invoicing, payroll processing, and month-end reconciliation within existing tools such as Xero, QuickBooks, and Excel. Both founders are graduates of Habib University and previously cofounded YPay Financial Services, a fintech startup offering digital investment in mutual funds, giving them a track record in financial technology that directly informed Plouton AI’s approach to the persistent problem of manual, spreadsheet-dependent finance operations across emerging market businesses.
Maheera Ghani earned recognition in the science and healthcare category for her work as a PhD graduate from Cambridge University in materials science and her ongoing postdoctoral research at Cambridge on ultra-thin semiconductors, a field with significant implications for next-generation electronic devices and computing infrastructure. Beyond her research, Ghani leads the WinSci Pakistan education project, which won the Nature Inspiring Women in Science award from the Estee Lauder Companies and Springer Nature for its work encouraging women to pursue careers in science. Reacting to her inclusion, Ghani described her journey as one filled with immense joy and expressed pride at representing Pakistan on a platform of this global significance.
Fahad Shahbaz was recognised in the social impact category for founding the Youth General Assembly in 2015 at the age of 18, creating a structured pathway for young people into leadership and policymaking through an annual 96-member assembly modelled on the UK parliament and mirroring the structure of Pakistan’s National Assembly. The assembly gives young participants a platform to debate public policy and produce substantive recommendations. Shahbaz is a 2023 recipient of the Diana Award, a member of the Pakistan Chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, and holds a Master of Laws degree from the University of Law in London. Responding to his recognition, he noted that the achievement belongs to everyone who supported him along the way, adding that Pakistan’s greatest chapter is still being written by its youth.
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