₹500 Cr
Gift-card business
Built a B2B gift-card business from scratch, scaling it to ₹500 Cr GMV.
Executive profile · New Delhi, India
Afzal Jafri.
Digital Business & Partnerships Leader
Building businesses, partnerships and payment ecosystems across FinTech, digital payments, banking, mobility and institutional markets. 20+ years of experience turning complex opportunities into scalable commercial outcomes.
Strategy. Partnerships. Execution.
20+Years of experience
₹500 CrGift-card GMV built
₹20 CrEnterprise contract value
15Countries with PSP partners
A little about me
Building what
comes next.
I work at the intersection of commercial strategy, technology partnerships and execution.
Over the course of my career, I have worked across digital payments, banking, mobility, travel, digital commerce and public-sector opportunities. My experience spans building new business lines, developing institutional relationships, structuring partner ecosystems, leading teams and taking products from proposition to market.
I bring together commercial thinking and operational execution — from launching payment use cases and scaling distribution to shaping consortium propositions and participating in complex tender processes.
Business buildingStrategic alliancesFinTechMobility
Selected outcomes
Impact in numbers.
A selection of commercial and operating outcomes from roles across payments, digital commerce, enterprise partnerships and mobility.
₹20 Cr
Enterprise partnerships
Closed eight enterprise and white-label deals with a combined contract value of ₹20 Cr.
₹1 Cr/day
Digital marketplace
Launched a gift-card marketplace inside a digital app, reaching approximately ₹1 Cr in daily sales.
₹5 Cr/month
FASTag throughput
Scaled FASTag issuing and acquiring use cases to approximately ₹5 Cr monthly throughput.
85%
Payment success
Improved blended payment success rates through payment-provider partnerships across 15 countries.
0.05%
BNPL portfolio NPA
Helped launch a closed-loop, FLDG-backed BNPL model for travel agents, with reported NPA of 0.05%.
Where I create value
Areas of expertise.
Commercial leadership supported by domain knowledge, partner relationships and the ability to execute across complex ecosystems.
01
FinTech & Digital Payments
Payment products, issuing and acquiring, PSP integrations, payment optimisation and digital banking use cases.
02
Government Partnerships
Institutional engagement, public procurement, RFP strategy, tender participation and consortium development.
03
Transit & Mobility
NCMC, AFC, FASTag, metro rail, transport operations and mobility digitisation.
04
Strategic Alliances
Banking partnerships, technology alliances, cross-border payment providers and enterprise ecosystems.
05
Business Development
New business lines, enterprise GTM, commercial negotiations, distribution and revenue growth.
06
Leadership & Execution
Team leadership, operating models, partner management, P&L orientation and cross-functional delivery.
Professional experience
The career journey.
Experience across established businesses and high-growth environments, spanning payments, travel, mobility, commerce and enterprise technology.
Strategic Advisor
GenzDealz.ai & India Today Group / Aaj Tak
- Driving FinTech product roadmap and co-branded credit-card initiative with HDFC Bank.
- Leading investor outreach and strategic partnerships for FinTech growth.
- Building digital newspaper distribution and content monetisation strategy.
Director, Growth & Partnerships
LifeVitae Pvt. Ltd.
- Closed eight enterprise and white-label deals worth ₹20 Cr in contract value.
- Converted 45% of freemium accounts to paid licences and helped improve renewal rates by 15%.
- Led a six-member business development team and established GeM registration.
FinTech & Mobility Consultant
GoParkk, StackFusion, Barrel Scope, Mihuru
- Scaled FASTag issuing and acquiring through bank partnerships to ₹5 Cr monthly GMV.
- Developed fuel, EV charging and UPI-loading payment use cases.
- Closed bulk EV charging fleet opportunities and led an urban mobility digitisation bid.
VP, Strategic Alliances & Payment-Bank Partnerships
EaseMyTrip.com
- Managed a 25-person alliances and partnerships team across multiple countries.
- Built B2B gift-card business to ₹500 Cr GMV and launched a marketplace doing approximately ₹1 Cr/day.
- Launched a closed-loop BNPL model for travel agents; onboarded 270 agents and recorded ₹50 Cr cumulative disbursals over three months.
- Onboarded Adyen, Stripe, PaySafe, Noon PG and Careem across 15 countries.
Senior Manager, Strategic Partnerships & Alliances
Airtel Payments Bank
- Created the DMRC online/mobile smart-card recharge line of business and drove institutional engagement, tender preparation and OSR-01/2021 bid submission.
- Developed the bank's NCMC strategy across prepaid and account-based ticketing.
- Participated in the Surat Metro NCMC/AFC tender through the Airtel–PayCraft consortium.
- Built B2C gift-card business to ₹300 Cr annual GMV and launched FASTag issuing, parking and fuel use cases.
Deputy General Manager – North
Meru Cabs
- Led 15 operations leaders and 200+ staff across collections, allocation and airport operations.
- Shifted fleet operations to an asset-light model and rebuilt operating processes.
Associate Director, Sales
CarDekho
- Led a 15-person DSA team and managed bank relationships and loan-origination integrations.
- Built an online car-finance book to ₹5 Cr monthly loan originations.
Project Head, Home Try-On
Lenskart
- Launched the Home Try-On service and deployed 200 kits across seven cities.
- Designed an in-person product experience combining optometrist visits and a curated frame selection.
Co-Founder
TaxisAround.com
General Manager, Operations
TaxiForSure
- Part of the initial team.
Senior Manager, Operations
Meru Cabs
- Part of the initial team; managed 24×7 city dispatch, fleet utilisation and airport operations across North India.
Institutional & public-sector work
Partnerships that move systems forward.
Work across metro rail, transit payments and government procurement has involved stakeholder engagement, tender groundwork, partner coordination and commercial proposition development.
Selected engagements
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC)
Created the online/mobile smart-card recharge line of business at Airtel Payments Bank and drove OSR-01/2021 tender groundwork and submission. The subsequent award was issued after my tenure.
Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) – Surat Metro
Participated in the NCMC EMV-based AFC tender through an Airtel Payments Bank–PayCraft Solutions consortium, with Airtel identified as lead member.
Government education opportunities
Completed GeM registration at LifeVitae and pursued CBSE and Uttar Pradesh Board student-counselling tenders. These bids were not awarded.
Beyond the boardroom
A little more personal.
A few moments outside the professional profile.
Connect with me
Let's start a conversation.
For leadership opportunities, strategic partnerships, advisory conversations or business collaborations, feel free to get in touch.