Director of Product
Lalita Chopra
Product leader building and scaling B2B & B2C fintech across the UAE, UK, and Southeast Asia
Selected Work
Projects
Wasta AI Middle East's first superconnector app
2021–2024Co-founded and built a cross-platform ecosystem (iOS, Android, web) handling 800+ weekly active users across MENA. Raised seed funding with TikTok as primary investor and led a 6-engineer team to consistent 15% month-over-month growth, integrating a SaaS payment model for full monetisation.
Peko All in one business platform
2025Launched UAE corporate cards, payment gateways, and business bank accounts within 8 months, servicing 12,000+ SMEs. Led development of a payment orchestration layer across accounts receivable and payable, and built a process to ship white-label solutions in under a week.
British Council Cross-Border Payments Migration
2021–2025Led payment system migrations across 15 countries with minimal downtime, expanding Buy Now Pay Later support into 3 new markets as part of a major financial product expansion.
UK National Lottery Win claim architecture
2023Designed the technical architecture for the National Lottery win-claim process following Allwyn's acquisition of Camelot, reducing the user payout journey time by 15%.
WorkPanda Proprietary ATS & Analytics Suite
2022–2025Architected and built a proprietary applicant tracking platform, recruitment website, and data analytics suite. ML-driven optimisations cut hiring cycle times by 56% and enabled 300% revenue growth during regional expansion.
Department Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Process Efficiency Transformation
2021–2025Identified 15+ efficiency opportunities across 8 government departments, reducing manual publishing time by 40% and highlighting bottlenecks that could cut onboarding time by 18%.
Career
Experience
Aug 2025 — Present
Director of Product
Peko, UAE
An all-in-one platform for businesses to manage payments, expenses and operations.
- Launched UAE corporate cards, payment gateways, and business bank accounts within 8 months, servicing 12,000+ SMEs.
- Scaled and led the fintech product team from 2 to 7, recruiting 5 hires and owning end-to-end delivery.
- Led development of a payment orchestration layer serving businesses and merchants across receivables and payables.
- Built a streamlined process to launch white-label solutions in under one week.
Oct 2022 — Apr 2025
Managing Director
WorkPanda, UAE
A technical recruitment firm placing construction and design talent across the luxury hospitality sector.
- Expanded into Southeast Asia and Saudi Arabia, securing 2 major enterprise clients in each market within 18 months.
- Cut hiring cycle times by 56% and drove 300% revenue growth by implementing ML strategies.
- Architected a proprietary ATS platform, recruitment website, and analytics suite underpinning regional expansion.
Apr 2021 — Aug 2025
Founder & Product Lead
CSG Solutions, UK & UAE
Technology consultancy delivering product development, business analysis, and AI training to large organisations and government bodies, including the FCA, National Lottery (Allwyn), British Council, DEFRA, and Ministry of Justice (HMCTS).
- Digitalised payment and accounting services for the largest technology reform project in UK history.
- Led payment migrations across 15 countries for the British Council, expanding BNPL to 3 new markets.
- Designed the National Lottery win-claim architecture, reducing payout journey time by 15%.
- Identified 15+ efficiency opportunities at DEFRA, reducing manual publishing time by 40% across 8 departments.
Apr 2021 — Dec 2024
Co-Founder & CTO
Wasta AI, UAE
Created the Middle East's first superconnector platform (website, iOS & Android apps).
- Raised seed funding from TikTok as primary investor and strategic partner.
- Built a cross-platform ecosystem handling 800+ weekly active users across MENA.
- Led a 6-engineer team driving consistent 15% month-over-month user growth.
Oct 2018 — Apr 2021
Full Stack Developer
Cognizant, UK
Architected and implemented full-stack solutions across UI, server-side logic, database design, and API integrations for multiple clients.
- Delivered the digital migration project for the UK's Financial Regulator.
- Built a mobile app POC for the UK's largest retailers (Boots & John Lewis).
- Developed microservices in Spring with Junit/Selenium/Cucumber testing and Jenkins-based DevOps.
Giving Back
Teaching & Education
Aug 2016 — Jul 2018
Teacher of Computer Science
Institute of Applied Technology, UAE
Taught computer science to students in the UAE, nurturing the next generation of technical talent.
Jun 2015 — Jul 2016
Head of Computer Science & ICT
Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School, UK
Led the computer science and ICT department, shaping curriculum and championing digital literacy.
About
A little about me
I'm a Director of Product who has built and scaled products end-to-end across fintech and HR tech, taking ideas from zero to launch in the UAE, UK, and Southeast Asia. I've led cross-border payment migrations across 15 countries and expanded financial products into new markets.
I co-founded Wasta, the Middle East's first superconnector app, securing TikTok as a strategic investor and scaling to 800+ weekly active users across MENA. I also helped digitalise payments for the largest technology reform project in UK history.
My foundation is technical: a First-Class Computer Science degree and hands-on depth spanning full-stack development, microservices architecture, and API design — which lets me bridge product strategy and engineering execution.
Skills
Education
B.Sc. Computer Science (First Class Honours)
Goldsmiths, University of London · 2011 — 2014
PGCE Computer Science with ICT (BCS Scholarship)
Middlesex University · 2014 — 2015
Certifications
Contact
Let's work together
Have a project in mind or just want to connect? I'd love to hear from you.