Scaling Smarter: Mohammad Ahsan Akbar on building high-growth delivery businesses across South Asia

About Muhammad Ahsan Akbar:

Mohammad Ahsan Akbar is the Country Manager of Yango Delivery in Pakistan, where he leads one of the company’s fastest-growing markets globally. With a career spanning enterprise technology, logistics, and business leadership, he has built and scaled businesses from the ground up, bringing together technology, operational excellence, and local market expertise. In this conversation with Business Recorder, he shares his perspective on what it takes to launch new markets, navigate the diversity of South Asia, and build businesses that are designed to grow sustainably.

An interview with Muhammad Ahsan Akbar

Q. Keeping it real, Ahsan, you’ve had the opportunity to build businesses at different stages of growth. What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned along the way?

Ahsan: Well, every business has taught me something different, but one lesson has stayed with me throughout my career: growth is never just about moving fast. It’s about building something that can keep up with that growth. Whether I was working in enterprise technology or later in logistics, I realised that if your processes, people and culture aren’t strong enough, growth eventually exposes those gaps. The excitement is always in launching something new, but the question is whether it will still perform well after six months, or say six years? That’s what the real challenge is and that is where sustainable businesses are built.

Q. Under your leadership, Pakistan has become Yango Delivery’s fastest-growing market in the region. What do you believe has been the biggest driver behind that success?

Ahsan: There isn’t one single factor. Rather, it is a combination of understanding the market, having the right people, and staying disciplined in execution. From the very beginning, we knew we couldn’t rely on a playbook that worked somewhere else. Pakistan has its own pace, its own business environment and its own customer expectations. We focused on building a strong local team, listening closely to merchants and customers, and making quick decisions based on what we were learning on the ground. Achieving a record-breaking launch across four cities was a proud milestone, but for us, success isn’t just about launching fast, but about building a business that continues to grow sustainably while delivering a reliable experience every day.

Q. Having worked across South Asian markets, how do you balance regional strategies with the unique needs of individual markets?

Ahsan: We begin with a common vision and shared standards, but execution is never identical across markets. Every country has its own business priorities, operational realities and growth trajectory, so flexibility is essential. Our role is to maintain consistency in the quality of our technology and customer experience while giving local teams the autonomy to make decisions that best serve their market. That balance allows us to stay aligned as a region without losing the agility that’s needed to succeed locally.

Q. When Yango enters a new market, what’s the first thing you focus on before launching?

Ahsan: Listening, definitely. It’s easy to arrive with assumptions, but I’ve learned that the market usually tells you what it needs if you’re willing to listen carefully. We spend time understanding merchants, couriers, customers and even the operational challenges they deal with every day. Technology is obviously a huge part of what we do, but technology alone isn’t enough. You have to solve real problems for real people. Once you understand those problems properly, building the right solution becomes much easier.

Q. What do you think Pakistan has done particularly well that other markets in the region can learn from?

Ahsan: I think Pakistan has shown that local ownership makes a huge difference. When you trust your local teams to make decisions and stay close to customers, you move faster and make better decisions. We’ve also learned the importance of balancing speed with consistency. It’s exciting to grow quickly, but customers remember the quality of your service far more than the speed of your expansion. That balance is something every growing market can benefit from.

Q. Within the same region, execution often looks very different from one market to another. How do you maintain consistency while allowing that flexibility?

Ahsan: We have shared standards around technology, customer experience and operational excellence, but we don’t believe every market should operate in exactly the same way. The people closest to the market usually have the clearest understanding of what’s needed. Our role is to provide the right framework while giving local teams enough room to make decisions that fit their environment. That combination of structure and flexibility is something I’ve found works extremely well!

Q. As Yango Delivery continues to grow across the region, what role does innovation play in staying ahead in an increasingly competitive logistics landscape?

Ahsan: Innovation is what keeps you relevant. The logistics industry is evolving rapidly, and customer expectations continue to rise. Businesses today expect faster turnaround times, greater transparency and solutions that blend seamlessly into their operations. That’s why innovation isn’t limited to technology alone, it’s also about improving processes, simplifying operations and finding smarter ways to solve everyday challenges. I have this strong opinion that the companies that continue to question how things can be done better are the ones that will stay ahead.

Q. Looking back at your own career, from enterprise software to logistics leadership, how has your definition of leadership evolved?

Ahsan: Earlier in my career, I thought leadership was about having the answers. Over time, I’ve realised it’s much more about asking the right questions and surrounding yourself with people who challenge your thinking. I’ve been fortunate to work across different industries, and each experience has reinforced the importance of trust, collaboration and empowering people to take ownership. When your team feels that ownership, the business naturally becomes stronger.

Q. Finally, what advice would you give to business leaders looking to expand across multiple markets?

Ahsan: The one advice that I too live by: don’t fall into the trap of thinking scale comes from repeating the same formula everywhere. Spend time understanding the market, invest in local talent and be willing to adjust your approach as you learn. Growth is rarely a straight line, and every market will teach you something new if you’re open to it. If you stay focused on creating real value for customers while building strong teams, the growth usually follows.