ISLAMABAD : Pakistan’s state media said on Thursday that EduFi, a fintech company focused on education, has won a $250,000 cash award after defeating more than 2,000 rivals in an international competition held during the four-day LEAP 2025 tech conference in Saudi Arabia.
The Riyadh worldwide Convention and Exhibition Center in Malham hosted the worldwide technology conference from February 9–12. The Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition for startups, which gives business owners a chance to present creative concepts to a worldwide audience of investors and industry executives, was one of the conference’s highlights.
EduFi helps students pay for their education by streamlining the borrowing procedure. After doing its own credit check, it covers tuition for accepted students who make monthly loan repayments while they are enrolled in classes. Last week, it took first place in the Rocket Fuel Pitch Competition.
According to a report by Pakistan Television (PTV), Aleena Nadeem of Pakistan took first place and received a $250,000 cash award at the International Information Technology Exhibition leap that was recently held in Saudi Arabia.
“Pakistan has achieved this honor for the first time in the history of the Rocket Fuel Pitch International competitions,” the state-run media said, adding that EduFi defeated 2,000 other contestants to take first place.
Aleena Nadeem, the founder and CEO of EduFi, accepted the award during the ceremony last week in Riyadh. According to Forbes, Nadeem, an MIT alumnus who interned at McKinsey while in college and then worked for Goldman Sachs and Ventura Capital in London, has been active in education problems since high school.
Her efforts with EduFi earned her a spot on Forbes’ 2024 30 Under 30 Asia list.
