Meet the 4 Orbit founders recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2023

Forbes has released its annual 30 Under 30 lists to honor trailblazers in Retail & Commerce, Finance & Venture Capital, and more. Meet the 4 Orbit founders recognized this year.

Shershah Hassan and Waleed Amjad Islam, Co-founders of KalPay

Hassan and Islam are co-founders of KalPay, Pakistan's largest Shariah-compliant Buy Now Pay Later startup, which aims to improve financial inclusion in the world's fifth-most populous country. Launched in June 2021, KalPay has been partnering with other tech companies in Pakistan, like Foodpanda and other BNPL player Muawin, to extend its reach and provide financial access in a country where credit card penetration is less than 1% and almost 90% of transactions are done by cash.

Orbit first invested in KalPay in 2022.

Alice Li, Co-founder of Rosetta.AI

A former interior designer, Li's fashion e-commerce tool Rosetta.AI helps businesses create unique shopping experiences. Launched in 2017, Rosetta.ai offers a 1-to-1 personalization platform for online stores that allows them to identify what customers want and promote products accordingly. Trusted by over 800 e-commerce sites including French cosmetics brands Lancôme and L'Oréal, Rosetta.AI’s solutions have helped clients increase their revenue per website visitor by 6.6 times in 2022. In January 2023, Rosetta.AI raised $2.4 million in a pre-series A funding round to expand into the US and EMEA.

Orbit first invested in Rosetta.AI in 2020.

Tesh Mbaabu, Co-founder of MarketForce

MarketForce is a B2B commerce platform that empowers over 200,000 neighborhood merchants across Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya and Nigeria. Through its merchant super app RejaReja, informal traders can source goods (hundreds of SKUs) directly from manufacturers and distributors, make and pay for orders digitally, accept payments for utility bills and access loans for their businesses. The RejaReja retail marketplace was launched in 2020 as a brainchild of MarketForce, a SaaS product for the formal markets, founded by Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti in 2018.

“Mutethia’s story is testament to the importance of perseverance and resilience in the face of adversity,” says 2023 30 Under 30 external judge Bright Jaja. “It’s truly inspiring to see how he has turned his setbacks into opportunities for growth and innovation. In a world where we face so many challenges, it’s important to have role models who demonstrate that it’s possible to make a positive difference and achieve success by pursuing one’s passions.”

Orbit first invested in MarketForce in 2021.