After building a bold vision to power digital banking in Pakistan and beyond, Tania Aidrus, co-founder and CEO of DGlobal, is halting the commercialisation of DCore — the company’s core banking platform — and instead doubling down on Waseela, a locally focused rural fintech initiative.
This strategic pivot comes in the wake of Dbank’s failure to secure a digital banking license and a noticeable shift in global investor sentiment towards Pakistan’s startup ecosystem.
🧠 What Was DCore?
DCore was built as a modular core banking system designed to power digital banks and fintechs in emerging markets. It originated from the technology developed for Dbank and was envisioned as a business-to-business (B2B) software solution.
The plan: sell DCore to banks and fintechs looking to digitise operations.
But selling enterprise banking tech is a long-term, resource-heavy game. With long sales cycles, regulatory friction, and global competition, DGlobal is choosing to press pause and redirect efforts.
🇵🇰 Refocusing on Waseela and Rural Impact
DGlobal is now focusing on Waseela, a platform tailored for rural Pakistan, where it sees the strongest product-market fit.
🚜 What is Waseela?
Through its customer-facing brand Kisaan, Waseela provides:
- Digital financial services
- Agri-inputs
- Supply chain tools
“Waseela is where we’re seeing the deepest product-market fit,” said Aidrus. “It directly aligns with our founding mission: to radically improve access, opportunity, and innovation in Pakistan’s emerging economy.”
💼 Layoffs and Internal Shift
As a result of the strategy shift, DGlobal confirmed layoffs, mainly in sales and partnerships teams involved with DCore. The company says it is supporting affected employees through this transition.
💸 Why the Pivot?
- Investor Sentiment Shift
International VCs have cooled interest in Pakistan due to macroeconomic and regulatory concerns. DCore’s global vision no longer aligned with investor expectations. - High Cost of Core Banking
Building and maintaining core banking infrastructure is expensive. Pausing DCore — rather than shutting it down — keeps the tech alive for internal use. - Local Focus Wins
Waseela offers quicker impact and better alignment with local needs, allowing DGlobal to show traction in the short term. - Funding Realities
With $17.6M in seed funding raised on a global vision, DCore’s strategy became harder to justify as markets and funding climates shifted.
🚀 What’s Next for Tania Aidrus?
This isn’t the first time Tania has pivoted. From her role as Special Assistant to the PM on Digital Pakistan, to launching Dbank, to building DCore, she’s proven to be a resilient and adaptable entrepreneur.
Now, by leveraging DCore internally to power Waseela, she’s showing that building for impact at home may sometimes be more powerful than chasing scale abroad.
DGlobal says it remains well-capitalised and committed to building bold solutions for Pakistan’s digital future.
