Oosman has chaired SadaPay’s board since July 2020, helping guide the company through multiple product launches, funding rounds, and regulatory approvals, as well as its acquisition by Türkiye’s Papara in 2024.
Ali Samir Oosman is stepping down as chairman of the board at Pakistan-based digital banking and payments platform SadaPay.
In a LinkedIn post, SadaPay’s CEO and COO Omer Salimullah states: “This isn’t easy to write, but it comes with a lot of gratitude. Ali Samir Oosman is stepping down as chairman of the SadaPay board and will be moving on.”
He continues: “As chairman, he brought calm judgment, high standards, and a strong sense of responsibility to how we govern the company.”
SadaPay currently provides over two million people in Pakistan with virtual and physical Mastercard debit cards for peer-to-peer transfers, local bank transfers, bill payments, mobile top-ups, and online or international purchases.
Oosman has served as board chair since July 2020, shortly after the company was granted in-principle approval by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) licence.
SadaPay went on to launch its debit card offering in February 2021; a move supported by $7.2 million in seed funding from Recharge Capital, Kingsway Capital, and angel investors Pierpaolo Barbieri, Brian McGrath, and Andrew Wang. Existing investors came back to support the company with a $10.7 million seed extension the following year.
SadaPay was later acquired by Turkish banking challenger Papara in May 2024.
SadaPay founder Brandon Timinsky departed shortly after the acquisition, when he handed the reigns of the company over to Salimullah. Timinsky has since gone on to announce his latest venture, Zar.
On Oosman’s departure as chairman, Salimullah adds: “I’m personally grateful for his belief, his time, and the way he showed up for the team. He helped us keep our feet on the ground while building something that matters.”
In a separate statement on his departure, also posted to LinkedIn, Oosman writes: “As I look back – It has been an amazing opportunity which taught me more than I could have imagined. We launched industry leading GTM motions, fought PR battles, won regulatory approvals, closed funding challenges, powered growth hacks, and navigated the first of its kind acquisition for an EMI in the market.”
Elsewhere, Oosman currently serves as vice president of external investments, strategy, and partnerships at Dubai-based VC Disrupt, formerly Gaditek, a position he took on last September.
