Client Name

SWICH

Faculty Advisor

Mr. Vishal Khemani

SBS Thought Leadership Areas

Entrepreneurship and Innovation

SBS Thought Leadership Area Justification

This project falls under the Entrepreneurship and Innovation domain as defined by IBA’s School of Business Studies. It involved using analytics, experimentation, and real-time problem-solving to create value for Swich, a growing fintech startup. By applying financial analysis and data-driven segmentation, the project demonstrates how transactional data can drive innovative credit risk assessments in low-data environments - marking a shift in traditional practices.

The project embodies the entrepreneurial mindset by helping Swich make smarter decisions, reduce inefficiencies, and scale effectively. Its practical, hands-on nature showcases how academic work can directly support innovation in emerging markets.

Aligned SDGs

GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Aligned SDGs Justification

The credit profiling model created within the framework of this project contributes directly to SDG 9. The initiative helped SWICH move closer to developing a more robust and scalable fintech architecture. By creating a simple credit segmentation model built on unsupervised learning, it demonstrated how credit evaluation can be innovated despite all evaluation constraints. This model also sets the stage for potential transaction-based micro-lending mechanisms, rather than the traditional formal credit history, which is highly disruptive with the large unbanked retail sector in Pakistan. As a result, the project contributed to the broader goal of strengthening the financial infrastructure through digital participation and innovation.

NDA

Yes

Abstract

This report presents the findings of an Experiential Learning Project (ELP) conducted in collaboration with SWICH; a Pakistan-based digital payments startup focused on revolutionizing the retail financial ecosystem of the country. SWICH offers services including cash-in, cash-out, airtime top-ups and utility bill payments through its retailer-focused app, with the aim of digitizing the country’s informal retail sector. The primary objective of the ELP was to evaluate the financial performance of SWICH’s core services and develop a data-driven framework to support future credit-based offerings. The project focused on three key areas: conducting a revenue and cost analysis to assess the margins at service level, exploring modifications to the existing commission structure, and developing a basic credit scoring model using retailer transaction data. These deliverables were developed through close collaboration with the SWICH team and supported by transaction-level data as well as behavioral patterns observed within the retailer's data.

The financial analysis revealed that while services like IBFT and Bill Payments were driving the majority of revenue, some offerings operated on lower margins due to reasonable transaction volume and as a means to maintain brand presence in the market. These insights supported recommendations to streamline the service portfolio and reallocate focus toward more profitable and high-usage segments. Additionally, simulations of revised commission structures suggested that minor adjustments could improve retailer engagement as well as company growth. Additionally, a detailed credit profiling model was developed by clustering retailers based on transaction behavior such as frequency, volume, and consistency, allowing SWICH to segment its retailer base and identify reliable cohorts for potential lending products. Together, these insights offered a clear view of service-level profitability, highlighted opportunities to optimize incentive structures, and laid the foundation for responsible credit-based offerings.

It is recommended that SWICH starts lending to the adequate retailers who currently don't have the credit facility and revises its commission structure to increase the Fee on End User by 70-100% - and match the market – which will increase their revenue from IBFT transactions and also improve margins that can be used to revise merchant commissions, if needed. This will support long-term product innovation and sustainable retail growth.

Document Type

Restricted Access

Document Name for Citation

Experiential Learning Project

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Available for download on Wednesday, June 16, 2027

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