{
  "id": 17036886,
  "title": "Qist Bazaar Marks Five Years of Rewriting the Rules of Retail and Financial Inclusion in Pakistan",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/qist-bazaar-marks-five-years-of-rewriting-the-rules-of-retail-and",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-29T08:49:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ProPakistani",
    "slug": "propakistani",
    "url": "https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/29/qist-bazaar-marks-five-years-of-rewriting-the-rules-of-retail-and-financial-inclusion-in-pakistan/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Qist Bazaar, a Shariah-compliant installment financing platform, marks five years of pioneering retail and financial inclusion in Pakistan. Originating as a startup in 2021, the company has expanded to over 100 branches in more than 18 cities, making essential household products like smartphones, laptops, refrigerators, washing machines, motorcycles, and solar solutions accessible to hundreds of thousands of Pakistani families while maintaining profitability from the outset. Backed by Bank Alfalah and prominent venture capital firms Indus Valley Capital and Gobi Partners, Qist Bazaar has financed over PKR 15 billion worth of products and processed more than one million applications nationwide.\n\nThe company's unique approach of focusing on necessities rather than luxuries has enabled it to maintain a bad debt rate below 4%, despite catering to customers largely underserved by traditional financial institutions. This disciplined product selection, coupled with a community-based approach to customer relationships and credit assessment, challenges the notion that serving grassroots communities inherently entails higher credit risk. Qist Bazaar's strength lies in its physical presence within the communities it serves, with branches strategically located in neighborhoods across Pakistan and weekend mohalla exhibitions that bring financing directly to customers. Local branch managers leverage their intimate knowledge of the neighborhoods and personal relationships with customers to build trust, assess creditworthiness, and facilitate responsible repayments.\n\nLooking ahead, Qist Bazaar plans to leverage its established branch network and customer data to expand through Point-of-Sale (POS) partnerships with independent retailers and distributors. Starting with smartphones and laptops, this initiative aims to make financing available directly at participating retail outlets, creating a new distribution channel without solely relying on branch expansion. Arif Lakhani, co-founder of Qist Bazaar, emphasized the importance of understanding a household's financial reality by being in the neighborhoods, earning customers' trust, and maintaining a disciplined focus on financing necessities. He expressed pride in the company's achievements while acknowledging that this is just the beginning of their journey, reaffirming the company's commitment to its core principles of necessities first and payments later.",
  "summary": "Qist Bazaar celebrates five years of operations, having grown from a startup into one of Pakistan’s leading Shariah-compliant installment financing … Read More The post Qist Bazaar Marks Five Years of Rewriting the Rules of Retail and Financial Inclusion in Pakistan appeared first on ProPakistani .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}