VFS Global, headquartered in Dubai, has a Swiss parentage and is a portfolio company of EQT, a leading global private equity firm headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Simultaneously, he also served as the CEO of the Switzerland-headquartered global travel services provider, Kuoni Group, from 2015 to 2017.

Industry expert

With a rich experience of close to 30 years in the travel and tourism industry and in developing a truly global business, Karkaria has taken on and overcome several challenges successfully. His success lies in his sharp entrepreneurial sense combined with organisation building skills.

Zubin’s greatest achievement has been the conceptualisation and the outstanding success of VFS Global. He was primarily responsible for launching the business in 2001 serving one client government in India, and growing it into a world leader in its space serving 63 client governments with close to 3,500 application centres across 144 countries (as at March 31, 2021).

The company has handled over 228 million applications since its inception in 2001. In 2016, Karkaria was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite (Knight of the National Order of Merit) by the President of the French Republic, François Hollande. This exclusive distinction recognised Karkaria’s exemplary contributions of over the past three decades in supporting the development of travel and tourism to France.

In recognition of his immense experience, Karkaria has served on several prominent industry boards. He has also won multiple accolades including Pioneer of the Visa Services Industry and currently he is a Global Member of WTTC (World Travel & Tourism Council).

Where do you see your company going in the next five years?

We are in a 24/7 marketplace, where innovation, customisation  and time-to-market are critical factors – besides of course reliability and security which are basic factors in our business. We are constantly innovating and continue to make investments in technology and customer experience.

Having a cost-effective and flexible, yet highly secure, outsourced visa services model will continue to provide value for immigration and border control mechanisms.