Abhi: Turning an Idea into Opportunity

The case explores the entrepreneurial journey of two young founders, Omair Ansari and Ali Ladhubha, in developing their entrepreneurial venture, ‘Abhi’, in 2021. The case specifically covers their journey from identifying a problem and devising a solution to converting it into an opportunity by creating a successful business model around the solution. Both founders had a strong background in banking and fintech. They identified the problem faced by low-income salaried individuals in Pakistan, a country with a very low rate of formal financial inclusion. They identified the problem faced by salaried blue-collar workers who had to wait until the end of the month to receive their salaries and, in case of any emergency or urgent need beyond routine expenses, could fall into the vicious trap of informal borrowing and end up paying high costs for their financial needs during the month. They developed the idea of implementing the earned wage access (EWA) solution in Pakistan for the first time. Given the nascent regulatory environment for fintech in Pakistan, the two founders navigated the challenges of converting this idea into a successful business model. The case connects several entrepreneurial theories normally taught in earlier entrepreneurship courses, including the bird-in-hand principle of effectuation theory, the first screen test for performing an initial feasibility assessment of the idea, and the detailed use of the Business Model Canvas as a tool for visualizing the conversion of an idea into a feasible business model.