ecosystem / people / kiran-samra
Kiran Samra on the TechTO stage

Kiran Samra

Founder, Lokafy

TravelTorontoOn TechTO stages since 2017

Kiran Samra founded Lokafy in Toronto in 2013 to pair travellers with locals who show them their own city rather than the tourist route. Guides, called Lokafyers, are paid per tour; the company says it has connected more than 146,000 travellers. She holds an MBA from Rotman.

On the TechTO stage ×1

TECHTO TRAVELTECHTO16:15

Kiran Samra of Lokafy presents What's Wrong with Travel

TravelTechTO · May 2017
Watch on YouTube ↗

First seen on the TechTO stage in 2017. Every talk is searchable — ask the archive about Kiran ↗

In their words

There's a degree of confirmation bias that goes on. You've spent hundreds of dollars to go on this trip and you want it to be worth it.

TechTO TravelTechTO, May 2017 · watch at 03:53 ↗
A few quotes can’t cover everything Kiran said on the TechTO stage. 1,600+ talks are searchable.Ask about Kiran ↗

Quick answers

What is Kiran Samra known for?

Founding Lokafy in 2013, a Toronto company that matches travellers with local hosts for private, personal tours. It now lists tours in more than a thousand cities.

What did Kiran Samra argue at TechTO?

That the downsides of travel go undiscussed — queues, tourist traps, feeling lost and exposed in an unfamiliar city — and that confirmation bias keeps people from admitting an expensive trip did not deliver.

How does Lokafy work?

A traveller books a local, not a tour route. Lokafyers are paid per tour and build the walk around the visitor's interests and schedule.

Suggest an edit
This is you? Claim this profileAsk to be removed
Know someone who belongs here? Suggest a profile
Maintained by TechTO · facts sourced and dated · last reviewed Jul 26, 2026