Search
Logo
Sign Up
Login
Upgrade
Home
Interviews
Region
Sector
Playbooks
Analysis
Podcast
🔒 Premium Content

Fintech

Fintech

+4

CoinMENA acquired by Paribu in up to $240M deal, marking Türkiye’s largest fintech transaction

Dec 5, 2025

•

3 min read

CoinMENA acquired by Paribu in up to $240M deal, marking Türkiye’s largest fintech transaction

The Turkish crypto giant gains VARA and Bahrain licenses through its purchase of CoinMENA, expanding regulated operations into the MENA region as consolidation accelerates across digital asset markets.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Zazu raises $1M pre-seed to build a Mercury-style financial operating system for African SMEs

Dec 4, 2025

•

3 min read

Zazu raises $1M pre-seed to build a Mercury-style financial operating system for African SMEs

Zazu is targeting what economists call Africa’s “missing middle”: the continent’s 50 million SMEs that sit between micro-entrepreneurs served by mobile money and large enterprises supported by commercial banks.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Saudi-based Erad secures $125M facility from Jefferies and Channel to scale embedded SME finance across the GCC

Nov 27, 2025

•

3 min read

Saudi-based Erad secures $125M facility from Jefferies and Channel to scale embedded SME finance across the GCC

The capital will expand erad’s embedded finance solutions into new B2B verticals including manufacturing, logistics, distribution and real estate services, with financing ticket sizes of up to SAR 10 million.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Lean Technologies eyes new bets ahead of potential IPO

Nov 14, 2025

•

3 min read

Lean Technologies eyes new bets ahead of potential IPO

Saudi fintech wants to push beyond open banking as it preps for a future listing, with CEO Hisham Al-Falih signalling a wider product roadmap.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Saudi BNPL Tamara turns profitable in 9M 2025 as revenue doubles and credit costs fall

Nov 14, 2025

•

3 min read

Saudi BNPL Tamara turns profitable in 9M 2025 as revenue doubles and credit costs fall

Tamara doubled revenue and delivered its first sustained profit in Q3 2025, supported by the arrival of one of the Middle East’s largest BNPL financing facilities.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Ora Technologies and Azur Innovation Fund acquire Cathedis in Morocco’s first locally funded startup consolidation

Nov 4, 2025

•

2 min read

Ora Technologies and Azur Innovation Fund acquire Cathedis in Morocco’s first locally funded startup consolidation

Founded in 2023 by Omar Alami, ORA offers an integrated app combining peer-to-peer payments, e-commerce, on-demand services, and a forthcoming digital wallet.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Stream raises $4M seed round led by Outliers VC to automate recurring payments for MENA businesses

Nov 4, 2025

•

3 min read

Stream raises $4M seed round led by Outliers VC to automate recurring payments for MENA businesses

Founded in 2024 by Ibrahim Aldlaigan, Stream provides a platform that helps businesses manage the entire billing and payment lifecycle, from issuing invoices and scheduling recurring payments to reconciliation and cash flow tracking, without relying on third-party apps.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Tabby hits $4.5B valuation in secondary share sale backed by HSG and Boyu Capital

Oct 29, 2025

•

2 min read

Tabby hits $4.5B valuation in secondary share sale backed by HSG and Boyu Capital

The deal comes just months after Tabby’s $160 million Series E in February 2025, which valued the company at $3.3 billion

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Qashio acquires Saudi fintech Sanad Cash to accelerate KSA expansion

Oct 21, 2025

•

2 min read

Qashio acquires Saudi fintech Sanad Cash to accelerate KSA expansion

The acquisition comes shortly after Qashio raised approximately $19.8 million in fresh funding in May.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Chari raises $12M Series A to expand merchant super app and build Morocco’s first BaaS platform

Oct 15, 2025

•

2 min read

Chari raises $12M Series A to expand merchant super app and build Morocco’s first BaaS platform

Founded in 2020 by Ismael Belkhayat and Sophia Alj, Chari began by digitising procurement for Morocco’s ubiquitous mom-and-pop shops, streamlining FMCG supply chains through its mobile app.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+2

Revolut’s Nik Storonsky swaps London for Dubai as fintech gears up for UAE launch

Oct 8, 2025

•

2 min read

Revolut’s Nik Storonsky swaps London for Dubai as fintech gears up for UAE launch

The move, first reported by the Financial Times, was disclosed in updates to Storonsky’s family office records.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Stitching together financial infrastructure from the Gulf to the world

Sep 24, 2025

•

12 min read

Stitching together financial infrastructure from the Gulf to the world

The Gulf is on the cusp of a cashless economy, yet new products can still take a year to launch. Saudi-based Stitch argues the region doesn’t just need better vendors. It needs a unified stack, built locally from the ledger up, so financial institutions across the globe can launch quickly without compromising compliance.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Saudi fintech Lendo signs $53M Murabaha deal with Jadwa to boost SME financing

Sep 19, 2025

•

2 min read

Saudi fintech Lendo signs $53M Murabaha deal with Jadwa to boost SME financing

The Murabaha deal follows a $690 million warehouse facility secured earlier this year from JP Morgan to scale SME financing in Saudi Arabia

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

HALA raises $157M Series B from TPG’s Rise Fund, Sanabil and others

Sep 15, 2025

•

2 min read

HALA raises $157M Series B from TPG’s Rise Fund, Sanabil and others

Founded in 2018 by Esam Alnahdi and Maher Loubieh, HALA provides SME banking and freelancer solutions designed to simplify how small businesses start, run, and grow.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

How Lean Technologies builds around the merchant’s hierarchy of needs

Sep 15, 2025

•

10 min read

How Lean Technologies builds around the merchant’s hierarchy of needs

Lean’s Mehdi Tazi on why revenue in Saudi still skews to data while the UAE is driven by payments, how the firm applies Maslow’s hierarchy to merchant needs, and what A/B testing reveals about consumer trust.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Tamara to secure at least $1.4B in debt financing from Goldman, Citi, Apollo; deal could reach $2.4B

Sep 13, 2025

•

2 min read

Tamara to secure at least $1.4B in debt financing from Goldman, Citi, Apollo; deal could reach $2.4B

The facility, among the largest of its kind in the Middle East, refinances and expands a prior Goldman-arranged debt package, with commitments potentially rising to $2.4 billion.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+2

Nauman Ali on Orbii's $3.6M Seed round, the death of credit scores, and establishing trust with lenders

Sep 11, 2025

•

13 min read

Nauman Ali on Orbii's $3.6M Seed round, the death of credit scores, and establishing trust with lenders

How Ali's early experiences shaped the mission, why defaults can be reduced to near zero, and what a post–credit score world could look like for businesses across the region.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Revolut secures in-principle approval for UAE payments licence

Sep 9, 2025

•

2 min read

Revolut secures in-principle approval for UAE payments licence

The move positions the London-based fintech, which now serves over 60 million customers worldwide, to roll out its full product suite to UAE users.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Orbii raises $3.6M seed round to scale embedded SME lending across MENA

Sep 8, 2025

•

2 min read

Orbii raises $3.6M seed round to scale embedded SME lending across MENA

Founded in 2024 by Nauman Ali, Nasara Mughal, and Guillaume Kieffer, Orbii develops an AI-powered embedded lending platform that enables banks, fintechs, and B2B ecosystems to launch and scale SME credit products.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

YC-backed Munify raises $3M seed to build cross-border neobank for Egyptians abroad

Sep 1, 2025

•

3 min read

YC-backed Munify raises $3M seed to build cross-border neobank for Egyptians abroad

Founded in 2025 by Khalid Ashmawy, Munify enables Egyptians abroad, particularly in the U.S., U.K., Europe, and the Gulf, to send money home instantly at lower cost, while offering residents in Egypt access to U.S. banking services such as accounts and cards using only a local ID.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Agritech

+5

Maalexi secures $20M shariah-compliant credit facility from Amwal Capital Partners to scale SME food trade

Aug 28, 2025

•

2 min read

Maalexi secures $20M shariah-compliant credit facility from Amwal Capital Partners to scale SME food trade

Founded in 2021 by Dr. Azam Pasha and Rohit Majhi, Maalexi connects small food and agricultural SMEs to cross-border trade by offering risk-mitigated solutions—such as AI-driven risk intelligence, digital contracts, IoT traceability, and blockchain-secured documentation.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Robinhood applies for DFSA license, hires Mario Camara to lead Dubai expansion

Aug 19, 2025

•

2 min read

Robinhood applies for DFSA license, hires Mario Camara to lead Dubai expansion

The Dubai launch is part of Robinhood’s wider international expansion push, following recent moves into the UK and EU, and plans to establish a regional base in Singapore for Asia.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Results

+3

Valu H1 revenue up 94% to EGP 2.6bn; net profit rises 64% to EGP 341m

Aug 14, 2025

•

3 min read

Valu H1 revenue up 94% to EGP 2.6bn; net profit rises 64% to EGP 341m

The Egyptian fintech's Prepaid Card showed “more than 2x” growth in top-ups and spend, and a 3.3x jump in spending transactions versus Q2 2024, as the card evolves into an everyday payment tool.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+3

Pakistan’s Abhi launches earned wage access in Saudi Arabia after $200m Alraedah partnership

Aug 13, 2025

•

3 min read

Pakistan’s Abhi launches earned wage access in Saudi Arabia after $200m Alraedah partnership

Abhi’s app lets employees access already earned wages in about 30 seconds, removing the monthly salary cycle. Workers can withdraw portions of accrued pay any day of the month, with funds sent to bank accounts or digital wallets.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane

Fintech

+4

Dubai-based Alaan raises $48M Series A to scale AI finance agents in MENA

Aug 5, 2025

•

3 min read

Dubai-based Alaan raises $48M Series A to scale AI finance agents in MENA

The round was led by Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA) with participation from 885 Capital founders Sudeep Ramnani and Jai Mahtani, Y Combinator, 468 Capital, Pioneer Fund, and a roster of prominent regional founders and operators.

Jamie Lane
Jamie Lane
Load more

Learn what matters in MENA startups and VC

Join 4,500+ founders and investors from MENA’s leading companies

QUICK LINKS

About Us

Sponsor Us

HOME

ARCHIVE

INTERVIEWS

AUTHORS

TAGS

© 2025 FWDstart Ventures LLC.

Report abuse

Privacy policy

Terms of use

Powered by beehiiv