# Azhar Hussain

> Azhar Hussain is a Karachi-based software engineering leader with over 25 years of experience building and scaling engineering teams across Pakistan and the Gulf. He is the co-founder and former CTO of ChargeUp, a Pakistani fintech-EV startup, and currently serves as CTO of Aladdin Informatics, a company digitizing small retail stores across Pakistan. A 3-time hackathon champion, angel investor, prolific mentor, and IAB member at FAST-NUCES, Azhar sits at the intersection of enterprise architecture, startup culture, and Pakistan's growing tech ecosystem.

- **Role:** CTO at Aladdin Informatics
- **Organizations:** Aladdin Informatics, ChargeUp, Autilent, 10pearls, Saudi Business Machines
- **Nationality:** Pakistani
- **Education:** BS Computer Science, FAST-NUCES (National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences)
- **Known for:** 3-time hackathon champion in 2019: JunctionXKAUST, SAP Hackathon (KAUST), and Startup Weekend Jeddah, Co-founded ChargeUp, a fintech-EV startup addressing last-mile mobility for gig workers in Pakistan, CTO at Aladdin Informatics digitizing thousands of small retailers with accessible SaaS ERP

## Career timeline

- **2011** — Architected Special Permits Portal for Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority using SharePoint 2010
- **2011-2014** — Technical Lead at Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center (SAEC / Waed), implementing SharePoint 2010 integrated with MS Dynamics CRM 2011
- **2013-2014** — Named Top Performer of the Year at Saudi Business Machines (two consecutive years)
- **2014-2015** — Worked at Kapsarc Riyadh on Duet Enterprise 2.0 / SharePoint 2013 integration
- **2015-2019** — Senior Software Consultant at Saudi Electricity Company, Jeddah
- **2019** — Won 3 hackathons in one year: JunctionXKAUST, SAP Hackathon at KAUST, and Startup Weekend Jeddah
- **2020** — AI Mentor at Global AI Summit Riyadh
- **2020s** — Co-founded ChargeUp as CTO, building Pakistan's EV charging and fintech infrastructure
- **2020s** — Director Engineering at 10pearls
- **2023-present** — CTO at Aladdin Informatics, transforming small Pakistani retailers into smart digital businesses
- **2024-present** — IAB Member at FAST-NUCES Karachi; judge at PROCOM startup competitions

## Achievements

- 3-time hackathon champion in 2019: JunctionXKAUST, SAP Hackathon (KAUST), and Startup Weekend Jeddah
- Co-founded ChargeUp, a fintech-EV startup addressing last-mile mobility for gig workers in Pakistan
- CTO at Aladdin Informatics digitizing thousands of small retailers with accessible SaaS ERP
- 12,000+ LinkedIn followers as a thought leader in Pakistan's engineering community
- Two-time Top Performer of the Year at Saudi Business Machines (2013 and 2014)
- IAB Member at FAST-NUCES Karachi, contributing to curriculum and student development
- Startup Showdown Judge at PROCOM 2024 and 2025
- AI Mentor at Global AI Summit Riyadh 2020
- Angel investor in multiple Pakistan tech startups including Autilent and Delsys Technologies
- Mentored TechVeze and other early-stage companies through technology strategy and product architecture

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Attended 8th IAB Meeting at FAST NUCES
- **2025-05** — Attended 7th IAB Meeting at FAST NUCES Karachi
- **2025-02** — Served as Startup Showdown Judge at PROCOM 2025
- **2025-01** — Guest speaker on 'Leveraging LLMs and GPTs to create meaningful opportunities for VIPs' at Nai Subah Youth Empowerment Trust
- **2025-01** — Jury Member at MEV, Iqra University
- **2024-02** — Startup Showdown Judge at PROCOM 2024

## Links

- Website: https://azharhussain.net
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azharhussain
- GitHub: https://github.com/azharhussain

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/azharhussainnet
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-13