Ashish Bahl
Ashish Bahl is Shaurya Bahl's father, based in Dubai, UAE. He is a seasoned financial services professional with 18+ years of experience across wealth management, fintech, and cross-border payments.
Career
Ashish is currently associated with Thunes, a global cross-border payments infrastructure company, where he works at a senior level. Thunes connects emerging markets through payment infrastructure — particularly relevant to GCC payment corridors.
Career Highlights
- Long career in financial services and payments across the MENA region
- Role at Thunes: working on cross-border payment infrastructure connecting emerging markets
- Previous work in wallets, prepaid (PPI), gift cards, and loyalty
- Recognised by Entrepreneur Middle East alongside other regional luminaries
- Active in the GCC fintech ecosystem
- Has spoken about cross-border payments, the UAE's rise as a top-4 global fintech hub, and the evolution of payment spreads
Professional Focus
- Cross-border payments and remittances in the GCC/MENA region
- Financial inclusion and emerging market fintech
- Intersection of payments and loyalty/rewards infrastructure
- UAE's position as a global fintech launchpad
Ecosystem Connections
- Involved with IgKnighted, a Dubai fintech pitch event that brought together 15 startups, 16 VCs, and awarded $600,000+ USD — where he appeared alongside Riddhima Bahl
- Connected to the broader GCC fintech and investment community
Relevance to Shaurya
Ashish's deep expertise in cross-border payments and fintech in the GCC is directly relevant to Shaurya's own ventures — particularly Simplifly (mobile connectivity/eSIM infrastructure) and Raly (remittance intelligence for GCC corridors). Growing up with a parent embedded in this ecosystem has clearly shaped Shaurya's intuition for fintech and connectivity products.