Speakers
Hon. Sunil Sabharwal
Strategic Investments, Summit Partners & Member of the Board, Securitize.io
Summit Partners / Securitize
Sunil Sabharwal is a highly successful, experienced fintech executive, and currently is a a Strategic Investments Advisor with Summit Partners. In addition to Securitize, he is also on the boards of Thunes (HQ, Singapore) and the Botswana Sovereign Wealth Fund. Mr Sabharwal was Chairman of Earthport, a regulated cross-border payments company, which he sold to Visa. He also served as the US board member at the IMF across two administrations, and received US Treasury’s Distinguished Service Award. Before setting up his own firm, he had a career with GE Capital, First Data Corporation / Western Union, the EBRD, Coopers and Lybrand and GTE.
Mr Sabharwal has a deep engagement with the Olympic movement as a civic leader, and is currently President of the International Fair Play Committee, Executive Board member of World Athletics, and previously served in the same function at the International Fencing Federation (FIE).
Speaking at SFF 2026
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1:30–2:00pmFri 20 NovFutureMatters StageHall 5, Singapore EXPOPremium
Others
The Napkin Pitch Is Dead. What Gets an Emerging-Market Fintech Funded?
FutureMatters StageHall 5, Singapore EXPOPremium
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Saemin AhnManaging PartnerRakuten Capital
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Mohammed Al-EmadiExecutive Director of Incubation & VC InvestmentQatar Development Bank
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Hon. Sunil SabharwalStrategic Investments, Summit Partners & Member of the Board, Securitize.ioSummit Partners / Securitize
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Nishtha AsthanaContent Strategist & EditorialGlobal Finance & Technology Network (GFTN)Moderator
About this session
Capital hasn't left emerging-market fintech. It has just stopped funding the napkin. In the first half of 2026, Southeast Asian fintechs raised US$682 million and MENA fintechs raised US$617 million. In both regions a single round took a third or more of the total, and the number of deals fell sharply. Investors now want real revenue and a short road to profitability before they commit. Investors from the Gulf and North Asia sit alongside two Southeast Asian fintechs to compare what each market rewards, which metrics get a term sheet signed and what founders should ask of the investors they bring onto their cap table.
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