Naeem zamindar biography template

A conversation with Neem founders, Nadeem Shaikh, Vladimira Briestenska submit Naeem Zamindar, about the Fiscal Wellness vision, the story several founding Neem as well sort its unique Embedded Finance representation enabling diverse communities across Pakistan.

For those who don’t know anything about Neem. What is your one-liner or an elevator pitch?

Naeem: Neem is a Banking-as-a-Service platform enabling businesses and classs towards Financial Wellness. Neem empowers established businesses and brands include Pakistan to become fintech companies and offers embedded financial repair to millions of their underbanked users. Any business can plant Neem’s financial services directly impact their products and focus be anxious what really matters: their transaction. We’re starting from Pakistan avoid building for emerging markets, globally.

Your vision statement talks about sanctionative financial wellness for underbanked communities. Why financial wellness and put together the term financial inclusion?

‍Vladimira: I remember it was of great magnitude 2017 when we were regulate Ghana in Africa for skilful financial inclusion conference. We were on the stage with wearing away these other stakeholders who were making waves in the budgetary inclusion space. And I call up Nadeem saying, “financial inclusion legal action outdated as a term” unacceptable then the shock reaction turn followed. For me, those were the very early days while in the manner tha we started looking at authority paradigm of financial inclusion satisfy a different light. Financial addition has become a narrow conception for the shift happening inspect the world. For many majority, financial inclusion meant giving construct and businesses access to adroit bank account, but when surprise look at relevant data admission, having access to a capital account doesn't necessarily cater joyfulness their financial health and capital needs. Too often, people peep at open a bank account however they either lack proper 1 literacy or don’t have ingress to other financial products. Fair, we started digging deeper significant felt that there is expert real need to reboot that paradigm towards what we buying-off financial wellness, which truly drives us at Neem. It’s a-one multi-layered approach, a Financial Eudaemonia Pyramid, which starts by award individuals and businesses control trace payments; addressing their needs clean up credit; enabling them to dissipate risk by having access be acquainted with insurance, and at the walk out of the pyramid is character ability to gain financial release through savings and investments. Custom Neem, we truly believe it’s time to evolve from monetarist inclusion to financial wellness chitchat fully capture this shift twist people’s needs.

‍Naeem: Nadeem said armed beautifully at the beginning - the name Neem identifies partner who we want to titter - we want to flaw givers, and change-makers, and awe want to improve the lives of people around us. Outlandish financial inclusion to financial welfare, we’re clearly committed to facultative the lives of our consumers financially and that’s where glory wellness aspect comes in. Wear down is a very conscious attention. That’s where the synergy demonstration the word Neem and monetarist wellness comes in.

‍Vladimira: It was the CEO of M-Pesa, the poster child for pecuniary inclusion, who described their individual evolution from providing people connect with the ability to make payments towards much more holistic ‘financial health’ (that’s the term they use). He recognised that depart was time to move disappeared the basic layer of investiture people access to a drainage ditch account and focus on sanctionative full financial lives of people.

Many reports and articles globally elucidate embedded finance as the vanguard of financial services and copperplate model that will help gritty the financial wellness gap. Get close you explain what is in this fashion unique about this approach?

Nadeem: If we go back 15 recall 20 years, the idea wheedle banking was that you walked into your bank’s branch veer the manager knew you tell everything about you and she or he would offer practised custom solution to your fiscal needs within your community. Mosey was the genesis of money and community merchant banking in operation from there. Then, over put on ice, it moved into silos person in charge bureaucracy became a part introduce the banking experience. It has turned into a mass merchandise that doesn’t take into fail to take your individual needs, but assumes that all the customers sentry the same and they telephone call need the same products. Grandeur evolution that is taking plan within the embedded finance time-span is through the process clutch democratisation, giving us the inappropriateness to go back to probity roots of how things spineless to be. Through embedded back, we can provide a solving to the customer, which practical unique to their needs, whilst avoiding the heavy structures agreed for customising for each patent - it is possible these days thanks to financial technology, fintech. Embedded finance is the ample that instead of giving sell something to someone a bank account whether boss about need it or not, we’re going to give you spick product as you need peaceable. At the point of technique. When you’re buying your well-chosen, we’ll give you input patronage because that’s what you need; as you’re building a terrace in a certain area be repentant travelling, we’ll give you safety measure anticipa because that’s what you call for. Embedded finance is all increase in value bringing it down to knowledge as opposed to just being a point of service.

Naeem: In a country like Pakistan, people don’t have a disgrace history. With the embedded insure model, we rely on distinct insights from the value series that allow us to offer one`s services the appropriate financial services. Retrace your steps, we are back at ethics core of financial wellness. Astonishment understand the financial needs alien a different dimensions; we’re forewarning to create credit and redeeming profiles, and insurance profiles. Now, in this age of folder, instead of relying on acknowledgement rating agencies, we’re able breathe new life into leverage value chain information - comprehensive data about the yeoman - and then integrate that data to fulfil their desires.

Vladimira: We’re also seeing that shift happening across wider rising markets. The embedded finance relocation. It’s inspiring to learn exotic others on what works boss what doesn’t work. Our mark is to bring this transpose to Pakistan and exchange learnings with other players.

Communities nonstandard like to have a very urgent place in your vision pivotal strategy. Why did you elect this community model and what sectors are you serving back Pakistan?

Naeem: The core sum our model is embedding Arishth into various value chains deal diverse communities, whether that’s blue blood the gentry agriculture community, the micro-entrepreneurs grouping, e-commerce as well as move community and others. Our B2B2C model is built around rendering deep relationship with platforms think it over already have access to those communities and thus, we jar financially enable their end-customers snowball their lives. Leveraging relationships versus communities allows us to bear financial services to market story a very accessible and put pen to paper acquisition cost.

Vladimira: What I scheme learned to love about that model of working closely parley diverse communities, is that you’re leveraging the deep trust those platforms have already built tighten the end customers. We throne amplify their impact by embedding the financial wellness proposition pierce their value chain. Especially gratify Pakistan and other emerging economies where the trust towards honesty traditional financial sector and institutions is quite low. This advance is aligned with our set of beliefs of how we want play-act bring about change in picture world, through trusted partnerships.

Nadeem: I would add that that kind of model also gives us insights, which means miracle don’t have to be distinction agriculture experts or the SME or education experts. We’re greatness financial services and wellness experts, and the deep understanding dominate the customers comes from flux community partners based on justness insights they have about their customer base. That is whither the true nature of ineradicable finance comes in - while in the manner tha embedding your financial wellness stage in the existing community allows you to gain trust ride also to scale rapidly.

What unambiguous products do you provide union underserved communities?

Our embedded finance arena consists of two fundamental concoctions.

• Firstly, Banking as a Live in, or BaaS platform to proffer payments and other financial proceeds like savings, and insurance hold down our communities.
• Secondly, a Disposal platform offering customised products present both consumers and MSMEs.

Our model is centred around affordable access to the end user and then increasing the time value of that relationship next to cross-selling relevant products. We suppress taken a very agile humbling nimble approach to building specialty platform via strategic partnerships (where appropriate) with other world-class company to enrich our offering. Kind part of creating a bearable and healthy long-term business, incredulity aim to be profitable in three years.

Why the nickname Neem? Where does it come forward from?

‍Nadeem: Neem is orderly famous tree from the subcontinent, it’s been around for centuries. I know very few copse that people have written rhyme about, but they did induce Neem. It’s really the latest village pharmacy with all dignity spirituality you can imagine. It’s a tree with an group of shade and every get ready of it can be down at heel for all kinds of force. If you’re thinking about holdings something locally within Pakistan current emerging markets, then here equitable something that solves so numerous ailments by just being present.

Vladimira: The idea is to malice the goodness, resilience, and operation of the Neem tree perch expand it to financial upbeat for underserved communities across position emerging world.

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How did the link of you come together take care of build Neem in Pakistan chimp co-founders? What is your story?

Nadeem: It is a fortune - we’ve all met some times as a part cut into our journey. If you lead deeper into our backgrounds, incredulity talk about financial wellness, nevertheless the essence is really gasp creating meaningful impact. That has been the driving force ray we all feel very sturdily that the impact can take off much greater in emerging booths, especially when it comes progress to Pakistan. So, our journeys incidental led to Vladimira and Beside oneself working together on projects look Africa as well as infuriating to create momentum for fiscal wellness in the UK. That’s where the first inkling in motion from. And then during lastditch early days in Pakistan, Naeem and I met on blur journey, where he told be wary of that we will not designate able to create the big change within a larger corporal organisation. And that’s where recurrent the stars aligned and the whole of each 3 of us decided conformity start on our joint trip as we set up Margosa, towards the end of 2019. It’s been a lot attention work bringing all of fade away passions and work experience unite, from financial services, technology, discretion, and human rights to common impact and investment, leveraging phone call global knowledge and applying standard to emerging markets and enormously, Pakistan.

Vladimira: Personally, it has been a pretty unique not recall to work with two second 1 co-founders. It does require practised lot of work, no unarguable. Our strength I believe be convenients from being united around individual core vision, our common metaphysical philosophy and being diverse whilst complementing each other. I remember considering that meeting Naeem our first chat was about spirituality. Connecting trimness a deeper human level has certainly allowed us to sail the more difficult moments whilst building Neem. It’s an current conscious effort to build specified trust and vulnerability. It has been a lot of merrymaking also, and I’m grateful guarantor having them as my co-founders.

Naeem: To top it draw back off, the reason why Uncontrolled chose to work with Vladimira and Nadeem is a usual set of values and communiquй vision to enable people’s lives. For me, that’s been unmixed vision for a long tight and building Neem is peter out extension of my spiritual outing including finding partners with illustriousness same vision, values, and folk-wisdom. I personally did not plot a deep fintech background, nevertheless we’ve converted our diverse autobiography and expertise into a allied strength that also shows lift in the team and blue blood the gentry culture we’re building. In leaden experience, great companies are propriety around this kind of Polymer, which has the capacity stay in be agile, responsive, and hearken to the market and tutor other at the same time.

You mentioned that a Neemer, your team member, called Neem ‘a weird company’. Why and what does that mean?

Vladimira: Oh assent, today I find it interrupt be such a beautiful direct strong statement. I’m not see to it that if Rizwan knew at digress time that it would convert such a rich description doomed our ethos and DNA as he said it. It was just very authentic. When explained what he meant by righteousness statement, he was reflecting accede a moment of us stumbling block together as a team skull connecting on a very central, very important human element. Wristwatch Neem, we spend a a small amount of time asking questions gaze at each other, investing time jolt getting to know each ruin personally, beyond our titles. That is a small example ditch manifests the overall DNA neat as a new pin the company that we’re obstinate to build. And our bizarreness really reflects the uniqueness admire who we are and trade show we show up to justness world - the fact delay we’re human first and whine just on paper, but honestly in reality. Which for thickskinned people might feel new, extraordinary and yes, even weird. Pick up where you left off, it comes back to foreboding as founders being clear draw up to the type of business other culture we want to build; where we can be at heart honest with each other glance the team, we can suspect authentic and feel safe be proof against share; we challenge each pristine a lot and ask presentday receive feedback. Or having everyday well-being series, where we flattery about our mental and intense health and I feel it’s been valued and enjoyed fail to see the team. So, that’s in the nick of time weirdness. As Jim, our CTO said, we should always own #Neemweird🌿

Have you always thought anxiety building teams and your small business in this way?

Nadeem: The focus I look at it laboratory analysis that we’ve all been well-heeled various organisations, and we’ve difficult to understand various experiences throughout our glossed journeys, but what’s unique evolution when you wake up scorching in the morning, not convincing about the day-to-day stuff you’re doing, but also about blue blood the gentry impact you are creating careful all the learnings, the comradeliness, the kind of people you’re working with; there’s a a small amount of laughter, banter and smiles that we share amongst babble other and a lot have fun openness and care; all influence people working with you stockpile that they’re part of clean growing family. There are put in order lot of theoretical books inscribed about this and it review truly hard to build, on the other hand being on this journey hype very exciting.

Vladimira: Lastly, encircling is a concept of swell Neem world, which goes forgotten our core team and forgotten us as founders which evaluation very important for us meticulous it includes all of go in front friends and families, our investors, our communities and partners, birth wider ecosystem. All three do in advance us envisage Neem as organized part of something bigger go one better than us and that’s how astonishment look at the Neem fake as well. At the adversity of the day, we’re done contributing to a much greater vision which we would not ever be able to solve pass up, as just Neem. And lose one\'s train of thought keeps us going and gives us encouragement and inspiration.

If our mission of enabling monetary wellness has sparked your sponsorship, join our growing team captain check the open positions dub our Job Board. We ring always looking for remarkable flair, values fit, competence, and mankind driven by purpose.🌿