Almas Ali

Multi-Region Product Ownership & GTM Execution

• Orchestrated end-to-end product launches across 4 APAC markets (Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore), from MVP definition to full GTM, achieving a 67% reduction in time-to-market (from 90 to 30 days).
• Led cross-functional collaboration across 7+ departments (Product, Tech, IT, Legal, Marketing, Operations, Accounts, etc) for multi-region product launches, ensuring alignment and transparency through a centralized tracking system and fortnightly progress reviews, facilitating the on-time launch of these geographies.
• Developed and executed go-to-market strategies and tailored product offerings per region by synthesizing research, competitive analysis, and feedback from CXOs, regional marketing and business teams leading to successful market entry.
• Directed international vendor discovery, evaluation, and contract negotiation securing key partnerships and optimizing operational costs.
• Oversaw engineering integration efforts , managed via Jira by respective team leads, ensuring technical alignment with product roadmap.

Digital Platforms: Web & Mobile Product Delivery

• Spearheaded the successful revamp of 5+ regional websites, mobile apps, and web applications (India, UAE, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia), managing internal teams and external agencies to deliver against aggressive timelines using Agile methodologies.
• Oversaw the launch of mobile applications in Malaysia, Australia, and South Africa, aligning CXO expectations with product roadmap, localization, compliance, and design systems.

Strategic Product Launches & Event Demos

• Led PayMate's pioneering launch on BharatConnect (NPCI B2B invoicing platform) as one of India's first BBPOUs, presenting a live product demo at the Global Fintech Festival (GFF 2024).
• Represented PayMate at SIDEC 2024 (Malaysia) by delivering compelling product demos tailored to local business use cases; created interactive prototypes using Figma.
• Conceptualized, scripted, and produced high-impact demo videos , including editing, voiceover, and feature walkthroughs, to effectively support GFF and SIDEC product launches.

Pre-sales, Partnerships & Regulatory Engagement

• Developed and presented product and technical strategy presentations to prospective partners, investors, and government agencies across APAC and India, contributing to strategic alliances.
• Led the technical component of RFP/RFI/RFQ responses for major institutions (RBI, MasterCard Global, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra), directly contributing to significant business development and compliance achievements.
• Spearheaded internal cross-functional initiatives for GSP (GST Suvidha Provider) empanelment, delivering a compliant GST return platform and submitting the formal proposal.

Prototyping, UX Design & Thought Leadership

• Built interactive Figma prototypes for RBI's tax payments initiative, showcasing innovative solutions to streamline complex government workflows.
• Designed and iterated high-fidelity prototypes for diverse mobile and web use cases effectively translating strategic vision into tangible solutions for partner engagements, GTM campaigns, and CXO reviews.

India Mobile App: Agile Product Delivery & Optimization

• Orchestrated the agile product lifecycle for PayMate's India mobile app (Android & iOS) , translating PRDs into JIRA tasks, leading scrum calls, and managing the backlog as Product Owner to achieve faster feature delivery, quicker market response, and enhanced app functionality.
• Led cross-functional tech teams to significantly improve app performance , resolving 90% of critical bugs and reducing app crashes by approximately 45% through backend optimization and load balancing initiatives.
• Architected and implemented robust fallback mechanisms by integrating secondary vendors for critical services (e.g., OTP, bank account verification); this initiative reduced OTP failures by 50-60%, minimized bank verification issues to negligible levels, and enabled automated switching to alternate providers within ~5 minutes with internal failure notifications, drastically improving service uptime and resolution speed.

International Product Rollout & Market Expansion (UAE, Singapore, Australia)

• Owned end-to-end product delivery for the UAE collections and payments module —including workflow definition from PRDs, compliance checks, testing cycles, and analytics configuration—and spearheaded expansion into new APAC markets (Singapore, Australia) by leading in-depth requirement analysis, identifying regulatory needs, and managing PRD rollouts.
• Ensured launch readiness in new APAC markets by coordinating with regional sales and operations teams for checklist planning, sandbox testing, stakeholder training, and leveraging data analytics for continuous product improvement.

Cross-Platform Analytics & Data-Driven Optimization

• Directed the setup, maintenance, and optimization of web and mobile analytics using Clevertap and Branch , and expanded capabilities by implementing comprehensive Firebase and Google Analytics (GA4) event/property tagging for enhanced, cost-effective data analysis and continuity.
• Drove significant conversion funnel improvements through data-driven collaboration with marketing, achieving a 20% uplift in the KYC funnel, a 6% increase in registration completion, and a 4% enhancement in the add card flow.
• Developed and implemented automated MIS reports , providing key stakeholders (marketing, business) with daily insights for enhanced data visibility and performance tracking

Strategic Operations & Stakeholder Management

• Served as the primary product SPOC for internal stakeholder escalations across geographies, leveraging JIRA for tracking and ensuring timely resolution of app issues by coordinating effectively with engineering, QA, and supporting leadership on high-priority fixes.
• Pioneered research into emerging technologies to develop a strategic product roadmap for India App enhancements and maintained MIS trackers to monitor agile delivery performance, app release cadence, and team output.
• Conducted essential research and analysis for localized KYC/KYB requirements to support compliant and effective product launches in new international markets.

• Spearheaded key product initiatives including the MVP launch of the UAE mobile app (Payables & Collections) , implementation of RBI-mandated Tokenization , and a revenue-generating in-app GST Challan payment feature ; drove significant UI/UX upgrades and technical enhancements (App bundle, Firebase, app size optimization) improving customer journey, ROI, and app performance.
• Championed product quality and data-driven enhancements, increasing PAN approval rates by 10% through refined KYC logic and implementing Agile methodologies for efficient product roadmap execution.
• Co-developed and implemented "Sherlock Engine", a proprietary fraud detection engine leveraging user behavior and data analytics to proactively flag suspicious users and significantly enhance platform security, while coordinating with Compliance & Legal on risk mitigation.
• Directed customer operations, achieving significant efficiencies by automating CRM processes (ticketing/KYC) ; established robust support channels (WhatsApp, ORM) and actively incorporated user feedback from Play Store/App Store reviews to improve average star rating from 3.7 to 4.3.
• Enhanced user support by creating comprehensive FAQs, help documents, and YouTube tutorial videos for app and web platforms.
• Established the initial analytics framework by setting up Clevertap dashboards for mobile and web applications for the first time ; implemented daily/weekly KPI tracking, analyzed MIS reports (transactions, registrations, KYC), and leveraged data to optimize conversion funnels and inform product strategy.
• Managed external partnerships (IDfy, Banks, PGs) to resolve issues, enhance product solutions (e.g., improving KYC funnel), and ensure operational continuity.

• Co-founded Z2P, a P2P lending platform, designing the MVP from scratch and supervising the technical team through end-to-end platform development.
• Drove the platform to significant scale: 60,000+ loans disbursed (INR 25 Cr+ volume), 5 Lac+ app downloads , achieving recognition as the 3rd largest P2P lender in India (by monthly disbursement, Mar '18) and the #1 highest-rated loan platform (Google) , with a low 1.6% default rate .
• Developed quarterly business plans, refined organizational structure for efficiency, and led a team of ~30, fostering growth and sustainable operations.
• Established and managed lending operations, critical platform features (Lender Portal, MIS), and successfully negotiated strategic partnerships with NBFCs and key vendors.
• As Chief Investment Officer, successfully acquired a diverse investor base (individuals, HNIs, firms) and actively managed their investment portfolios on the P2P lending platform, aligning investment strategies with lending opportunities.