Usman Javaid is Co-Founder and CEO of Ricult, an award-winning MIT spin-off and AI-driven agri-fintech platform empowering smallholder farmers across Asia through digital financial technology.

After studying engineering in Pakistan and working at Exxon and Nestle where he helped pioneer mobile banking services, Usman enrolled at MIT Sloan in 2014 to pursue an MBA in Innovation and Global Business, co-founding Ricult out of the MIT Accelerator Program in 2015.

Usman brings over 20 years of experience across multinationals including Telenor and Nestle, and serves as a Board Member of the Pakistan Fintech Network, championing financial inclusion across emerging markets.

Under his leadership, Ricult has raised over $12 million in grants and investments from backers including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 500 Global, Credit Suisse, and UOB Venture Management, and has won a prestigious UN UNIDO award for innovation in agribusiness.

Ricult has scaled operations across Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam, impacting over 800,000 farmers with a reported 17% increase in farmer income by leveraging AI, satellite imagery, and machine learning to unlock credit and market access.