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

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

Sep 19, 2025

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2 min read

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

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.

Sep 15, 2025

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2 min read

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

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.

Sep 15, 2025

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10 min read

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

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.

Sep 13, 2025

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2 min read

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

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.

Sep 11, 2025

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13 min read

Revolut secures in-principle approval for UAE payments licence

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.

Sep 9, 2025

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2 min read

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

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.

Sep 8, 2025

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2 min read

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

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.

Sep 1, 2025

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3 min read

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

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.

Aug 28, 2025

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2 min read

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

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.

Aug 19, 2025

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2 min read

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

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.

Aug 14, 2025

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3 min read

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

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.

Aug 13, 2025

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3 min read

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

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.

Aug 5, 2025

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3 min read

Barq hits 7M customers, moves $19.5B as Saudi e‐wallet race intensifies

Barq hits 7M customers, moves $19.5B as Saudi e‐wallet race intensifies

Saudi payments app Barq has surged past 7 million users, issued 6.5 million cards and processed SAR 73B ($19.5B) in transactions since July 2024.

Jul 31, 2025

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2 min read

Revolut targets Morocco as next North Africa growth play

Revolut targets Morocco as next North Africa growth play

Revolut is stepping up its North Africa expansion, naming former Uber Southern and Eastern Europe operations director Amine Berrada to lead its push into Morocco.

Jul 31, 2025

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3 min read

Lean Technologies gains regulatory approval under UAE’s Open Finance Framework

Lean Technologies gains regulatory approval under UAE’s Open Finance Framework

Founded in 2019 by Hisham Al-Falih, Ashu Gupta, and Aditya Sarkar, Lean enables businesses such as Tabby, Talabat, and Careem to access user-permissioned financial data and initiate account-to-account payments.

Jul 28, 2025

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4 min read

Lime launches in Egypt with $9.4M investment to power education financing

Lime launches in Egypt with $9.4M investment to power education financing

Led by CEO and Managing Director Ahmed Mohsen, Lime is targeting a large and underserved market. Lime offers installment plans of up to 12 months for education expenses, with loan values of up to EGP 1 million and approvals granted within minutes through a fully digital onboarding journey.

Jul 22, 2025

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2 min read

Flend raises $3M to scale embedded SME lending in Egypt

Flend raises $3M to scale embedded SME lending in Egypt

Founded by Ahmed Zaki, Nehal Helmy, and Saif Edeen El Bendari, Flend is licensed by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) as a Digital Non-Banking Financial Institution. The company offers short-term working capital loans to SMEs through a fully digital platform, streamlining everything from onboarding and credit scoring to disbursement and collections using digitally binding contracts.

Jul 22, 2025

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2 min read

Tabby's tightrope: inside the numbers

Tabby's tightrope: inside the numbers

Unpacking Tabby’s Q1 2025 numbers in Saudi Arabia – profit surge, credit‐loss drag, break‐neck revenue growth, and the leverage‐heavy funding stack behind the Middle East’s most valuable VC‐backed fintech company.

Jul 17, 2025

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4 min read

PALM raises 7-figure pre-seed round to become the Mediterranean’s go-to savings platform

PALM raises 7-figure pre-seed round to become the Mediterranean’s go-to savings platform

The startup, founded in 2024 by Mazen El Kerdany and Ahmed Ashour, is reimagining how Egyptians approach saving – not by telling them to cut back, but by embedding smart, goal-based nudges and curated investment options directly into everyday financial decisions.

Jul 15, 2025

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3 min read

ORA Technologies closes $7.5M Series A to deepen digital payments and last-mile reach in Morocco

ORA Technologies closes $7.5M Series A to deepen digital payments and last-mile reach in Morocco

Founded by Omar Alami in 2023, ORA has taken an ambitious swing at building Morocco’s first true super-app, combining P2P transfers, e-commerce, social networking, chat, on-demand services, and a forthcoming mobile wallet in a single interface.

Jul 15, 2025

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3 min read

Saudi’s Yasmina raises $2M Seed to embed insurance into everyday transactions

Saudi’s Yasmina raises $2M Seed to embed insurance into everyday transactions

Founded in 2023 by Masoud Alhelou and Bashar Abalkhail, Yasmina integrates insurance directly into digital customer journeys, via a single API, allowing platforms in HR, auto, real estate, travel, and point-of-sale to offer protection products at checkout.

Jul 14, 2025

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2 min read

Tarmeez Capital raises strategic round from stc’s Tali Ventures to scale sukuk fintech platform

Tarmeez Capital raises strategic round from stc’s Tali Ventures to scale sukuk fintech platform

The Saudi startup, which enables Sharia-compliant debt issuance at 7x traditional speeds, will use the funding to grow its platform and retail reach.

Jul 10, 2025

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1 min read

LemFi launches remittance services in Egypt to tap $29.6B diaspora corridor

LemFi launches remittance services in Egypt to tap $29.6B diaspora corridor

The London-based fintech, fresh off a $53M Series B, is expanding its low-cost money transfer platform into Egyptas it eyes deeper penetration across North Africa.

Jul 10, 2025

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2 min read

Egypt’s Valu secures go-ahead for Jordan entry with BNPL offering

Egypt’s Valu secures go-ahead for Jordan entry with BNPL offering

The Cairo-based fintech’s entry into Jordan marks its first move beyond Egypt, following a recent EGX listing and a strategic investment from Amazon.

Jul 10, 2025

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2 min read

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