Qist Bazaar Marks Five Years of Rewriting the Rules of Retail and Financial Inclusion in Pakistan
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With over 100 branches across 18+ cities, more than PKR 15 billion in financing, and bad debt below 4%, Qist Bazaar is demonstrating that grassroots financial inclusion can be both profitable and sustainable.
October 28, 2026 — Karachi, Pakistan: Qist Bazaar celebrates five years of operations, having grown from a startup into one of Pakistan’s leading Shariah-compliant installment financing platforms. With over 100 branches across more than 18 cities, the company has made essential household products accessible to Hundreds of thousands of Pakistani families while maintaining profitability since day one.
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 company has processed over one million applications nationwide.
Necessities First, Payments Later
Unlike conventional Buy Now, Pay Later models that often encourage discretionary spending, Qist Bazaar focuses on necessities rather than luxuries.
This disciplined product selection, combined with its community-based approach to customer relationships and credit assessment, has helped the company maintain bad debt below 4%, despite financing customers largely underserved by traditional financial institutions.
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 support responsible repayments.
The Next Chapter: Expanding Through Retail Partnerships
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.
Beginning with smartphones and laptops, the initiative will make 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, said “You cannot understand a household’s financial reality sitting in a boardroom. You have to be in the neighborhoods, understand the people, and earn their trust.
We made a conscious decision five years ago to finance necessities, not luxuries. Combined with our community-driven model, this has helped 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 started.
Necessities First, Payments Later. That’s not just our tagline. It’s how we do business.”
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