Halima Iqbal is a fintech founder, investor and passionate advocate for women’s financial inclusion. As the Founder and CEO of Oraan, Pakistan’s pioneering women-led fintech company, Halima is reshaping the country’s financial landscape by designing solutions that meet women’s real needs, not just ticking the inclusion box.
For Halima, financial inclusion is not about creating a “bank for women”. It is about creating products that truly serve them, tools that reflect their lives, challenges and ambitions.
A Mission Rooted in Inclusion
Halima’s journey began after a decade in investment banking and consulting in North America. When she returned to Pakistan in 2017, she faced a surprising obstacle: she could not easily open a bank account. The experience exposed a deep and persistent barrier, as traditional financial systems were not built for women.
Determined to change that, Halima founded Oraan, a fintech platform that digitises Pakistan’s traditional ROSCAs (Rotating Savings and Credit Associations), informal savings groups that have long been trusted by women. By bringing this familiar model online, Oraan allows women to save, borrow and invest collectively in a way that feels safe, accessible and community-driven.
Under Halima’s leadership, Oraan has grown rapidly, raising USD 3 million in seed funding, a major milestone for a women-led startup in Pakistan’s fintech sector.
Building Trust in Finance
For Halima, the real challenge is not only access to financial products but also trust.
“In markets like Pakistan, women’s exclusion from finance is not simply about access, it is about belief,” she explains. “Women need to trust that these products are made for them, by people who understand them.”
That belief guides every aspect of Oraan’s work. The platform builds trust through transparency, empathy and education, creating safe spaces where women can learn about money management, connect with peers and build financial confidence.
Halima’s vision is to move beyond the transactional and create an ecosystem where women see finance as an enabler, not a barrier.
Leading Change in a Male-Dominated Sector
As the only female executive in the Pakistan Fintech Association, Halima stands out as a role model for women in technology and leadership. Her journey has not been without challenges. She has faced skepticism from investors and systemic bias but also found crucial allies. Among them is i2i Ventures, Pakistan’s first female-led venture capital firm, which became one of Oraan’s earliest supporters.
Her success demonstrates what is possible when women back women and when financial systems start listening to half the population they have long overlooked.
A New Chapter in Gender Equality
As an AVPN Gender Equality Ambassador, Halima is using her platform to highlight the urgent need for gender-sensitive financial systems across emerging markets. She believes that real inclusion requires more than access. It demands empathy, trust and a shift in how financial products are designed.
Her message is clear: “If we want women to participate fully in the economy, we must build systems that see them, understand them and trust them.”
Through Oraan and her ambassadorship with AVPN, Halima is helping to redefine what true inclusion looks like, one product, one woman and one community at a time.
