Qist Bazaar Marks Five Years of Rewriting the Rules of Retail and Financial Inclusion in Pakistan

Qist Bazaar celebrates five years of operations, having grown from a startup into one of Pakistan's leading Shariah-compliant installment financing platforms.

Key points

• Founded in 2021, Qist Bazaar has financed more than PKR 15 billion worth of products, including smartphones, laptops, refrigerators, washing machines, motorcycles, and solar solutions.
• Unlike conventional Purchase Now, Pay Afterwards models that often encourage discretionary spending, Qist Bazaar focuses on necessities rather than luxuries.
• Building on its established branch network and customer data, Qist Bazaar is now expanding its Point-of-Sale (POS) partnerships with independent retailers and distributors.
• Qist Bazaar's distinctive strength lies in its physical presence within the communities it serves.
• The results challenge the perception that serving grassroots communities necessarily means accepting higher credit risk.

Founded in 2021, Qist Bazaar has financed more than PKR 15 billion worth of products, including smartphones, laptops, refrigerators, washing machines, motorcycles, and solar solutions. Backed by Bank Alfalah and leading venture capital firms, including Indus Valley Capital and Gobi Partners, the firm has processed over one million applications nationwide. Necessities First, Payments Afterwards.

This disciplined product selection, combined with its community-based approach to customer relationships and credit assessment, has supported the business maintain bad debt below 4%, despite financing customers largely underserved by traditional financial institutions.

Notably, the results challenge the perception that serving grassroots communities necessarily means accepting higher credit risk. Taking Financial Inclusion to the Neighborhood.

Qist Bazaar's distinctive strength lies in its physical presence within the communities it serves. From the historic streets of Androon-e-Lahore to the busy neighborhoods of Korangi, its branches and weekend mohalla exhibitions bring financing directly to customers.

Local branch managers play a central role, combining neighborhood knowledge and personal relationships with technology to build trust, assess customers, and backing responsible repayments. The Next Chapter: Expanding Through Retail Partnerships.

Beginning with smartphones and laptops, the initiative will create Qist Bazaar's financing available directly at participating retail outlets, creating a new distribution channel without relying exclusively on branch expansion. Arif Lakhani, Co-Founder of Qist Bazaar, remarked.

You cannot understand a household's financial reality sitting in a boardroom. You have to be in the neighborhoods, understand the individuals, and earn their trust.

We created a conscious decision five years ago to finance necessities, not luxuries. Combined with our community-driven model, this has supported us keep bad debt below 4%, proving that financial inclusion and commercial discipline can go hand in hand.

I am incredibly proud of what our team has achieved, but it feels like we are only getting began.

Necessities First, Payments Afterwards. That's not just our tagline. It's how we do business. Stay Connected with ProPakistani.

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