ISLAMABAD: Seven Pakistanis, including young entrepreneurs, scientists, social innovators and entertainers, have been named to Forbes Asia’s 2026 “30 Under 30” list, reflecting the country’s growing presence across a diverse range of globally competitive fields.
Published annually by US business magazine Forbes, the “30 Under 30 Asia” list recognizes young people from across the Asia-Pacific region in categories ranging from technology and finance to health care, social impact and entertainment.
This year’s Pakistani honorees were recognized across five separate categories.
“Maheera Ghani graduated from Cambridge University in 2025 with a Ph.D. in materials science,” the magazine said about a Pakistani scientist on the list. “She is now doing postdoctoral research at Cambridge on ultra-thin semiconductors.”
Recognized for her accomplishments in the Healthcare and Science category, Forbes highlighted Ghani’s leadership of WinSci Pakistan, an initiative that received the Nature Inspiring Women in Science Award last year for encouraging women to pursue careers in science.
Beyond science, the list also featured Pakistani entrepreneurs working in technology and finance. Among those honored was Syed Ismail, cofounder of Karachi-based Saraaf, which the magazine said was launched to digitize commodity sourcing and bring greater transparency to regional trade.
It said the company was developing a platform offering real-time pricing, shipment tracking, digitized contracts and live communication tools for businesses sourcing materials such as cotton and onyx from Central and South Asia.
Forbes also highlighted the company’s $5.3 million investment commitment secured through Shark Tank Pakistan in 2024 and its plans to go public this year.
In the Finance & Venture Capital category, the publication selected Muhammad Furqan Karim Kidwai and Sarfraz Shahid Hussain, cofounders of Singapore-backed Plouton AI.
Forbes described the startup as an agentic automation platform that helps mid-market companies automate finance workflows, including invoicing, payroll processing and month-end reconciliation, without requiring them to purchase expensive enterprise software.
The list also recognized Pakistani efforts to promote civic engagement and youth leadership.
In the Social Impact category, Forbes recognized Fahad Shahbaz, who founded the Youth General Assembly in 2015 at the age of 18 to create pathways for young Pakistanis to participate in leadership and policymaking.
The initiative runs a 96-member assembly modeled on Pakistan’s National Assembly, where participants debate public policy and formulate recommendations.
Pakistan’s entertainment industry was represented by Hania Aamir and filmmaker Saman Kamran in the Entertainment & Sports category.
Forbes described Aamir as Pakistan’s most-followed woman on Instagram, with around 20 million followers, and noted that she rose to prominence after her performance in the television drama “Phir Wohi Mohabbat.”
The publication also said she is set to star in “Jo Bachay Hain Sang Samait Lo,” which it described as Netflix’s first Pakistani original series.
Kamran was recognized for a body of work spanning film, documentary and music videos.
Forbes highlighted her film “Gandhara: Land of Fragrance,” which was selected for an international film festival, as well as her collaboration with New York-based artist Wong Kit Yi on an experimental film exploring fertility and ecological collapse in Asia.
“Kamran, a graduate of the National College of Arts in Lahore, was assistant director on ‘Umro Ayyar,’ one of Pakistan’s highest-grossing films,” it added.
