Pakistan has once again made its mark on the global stage. Seven Pakistanis have been included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2026 list, with their work recognized across technology, finance, science, social impact, and entertainment. Now in its 11th edition, the Forbes roster has previously featured several Pakistani names across entertainment, fashion, and the arts.
1. Hania Aamir — Entertainment & Sports
Actor Hania Aamir, who recently became Pakistan’s most-followed woman on Instagram with more than 20 million followers, has built a prominent television career over the past decade. Her growing digital influence and acting work have placed her among Asia’s top young entertainers.
2. Saman Kamran — Entertainment & Sports
Filmmaker Saman Kamran has also been named on the list, further highlighting Pakistan’s growing footprint in the regional film and media industry.
3. Syed Ismail — Consumer & Enterprise Technology
Syed Ismail, co-founder of Karachi-based Saraaf, was named in the Consumer and Enterprise Technology category. Saraaf, founded in 2021, is working to digitize commodity sourcing for businesses dealing in materials such as onyx and cotton from Central and South Asia. Its platform focuses on real-time pricing, shipment tracking, digital contracts, and live communication between buyers and sellers. The startup also made headlines when it secured a $5.3 million investment commitment from Shark Tank Pakistan in 2024.
4. Muhammad Furqan Karim Kidwai — Finance & Venture Capital
Muhammad Furqan Karim Kidwai is a BS Computer Science graduate from Habib University, Class of 2020, and a TOPS Scholar. He co-founded YPay Financial Services, an app that enables people to invest digitally in mutual funds, promoting financial literacy and a culture of savings in Pakistan, which was valued at $2 million. Building on that experience, Kidwai saw how finance teams in many emerging markets still rely on spreadsheets and emails and co-founded Singapore-based Plouton AI, a platform that uses browser-based AI agents to carry out tasks such as invoicing, payroll processing, and month-end reconciliation within tools companies already use, including Xero, QuickBooks, and Excel, earning him a spot on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2026 list.
5. Sarfraz Shahid Hussain — Finance & Venture Capital
Sarfraz Shahid Hussain is a BS Computer Science graduate from Habib University, Class of 2020, and a TOPS Scholar who co-founded YPay Financial Services alongside Furqan, saying the liberal arts education he received played a vital role in his entrepreneurial journey. The idea for Plouton AI came while the two were running a consultancy with over 100 members, where complex payroll and final settlement processes were consuming too much valuable time. After discovering this was a widespread issue, they founded Plouton AI to automate these financial workflows. Sarfraz serves as CTO and Co-Founder of Plouton AI in Singapore and was recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2026 list in the Finance and Venture Capital category.
6. Maheera Ghani — Healthcare & Science
Pakistani scientist Maheera Ghani has been named on the list for her groundbreaking contributions in materials science. A PhD graduate from the University of Cambridge (2025), she is currently pursuing postdoctoral research focused on next-generation semiconductors. Forbes also noted her work through WinSci Pakistan, an education initiative encouraging women to pursue science careers. The project won the Nature Inspiring Women in Science award from Estée Lauder Companies and Springer Nature.
7. Fahad Shahbaz — Social Impact
When Fahad Shahbaz founded the Youth General Assembly in 2015, he was eighteen years old, working with a simple but powerful idea: that young Pakistanis deserved a real seat in conversations that shaped their country. The initiative runs an annual 96-member assembly modelled on the UK Parliament and Pakistan’s National Assembly, where participants debate public policy issues and develop recommendations. Shahbaz is a recipient of the 2023 Diana Award and is also part of the Pakistan chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community.
