bKash
Banks tempted to protest over a non-bank winning the top digital solutions award can take solace from the way this particular fintech phenomenon is turning the heads of many of the globe’s most important financiers.
Since chief executive Kamal Quadir founded bKash in 2010 as a subsidiary of Brac Bank, the mobile finance pioneer has scored investments from the likes of the World Bank’s IFC, as well as a who’s who of the world’s top innovators: Bill Gates, Jack Ma and, most recently, Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Vision Fund fame.
In a way, Quadir’s platform has been embraced by every family in a nation that has 165 million people and grand ambitions to be a manufacturing alternative to China and Vietnam. By the end of Asiamoney’s awards consideration period, bKash’s universe of active users had exceeded 62 million.
Between April 2021 and March 2022, bKash added more than 12 million new customers, served by 258 distributors and 284 customer-care points. While bKash has been Bangladesh’s top mobile finance name, the team isn’t resting on its laurels.
When