Fintech
Fintech
+4
Jan 29, 2026
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2 min read
PayLater secures $10M seed in one of Qatar’s largest early-stage fintech rounds
The round was led by LuLu Alternative Investments, with strategic participation from Qatar Development Bank and KBN Holding, alongside a group of angel investors.
Fintech
+4
Jan 26, 2026
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2 min read
Vennre raises $9.6M pre-Series A to expand private market access in Saudi Arabia
Backed by Vision Ventures and anb seed Fund, the wealth creation platform targets the region’s HENRY segment with curated private equity, real estate, and Sharia-compliant investment access.
Fintech
+4
Jan 16, 2026
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2 min read
Flooss secures $22M Shorooq-backed credit facility in Bahrain’s first private asset-backed fintech financing
The credit facility builds on Flooss’s earlier equity funding. In its 2025 end-of-year letter, MEVP revealed it participated in a $2 million seed round for Flooss during the year.
Fintech
+5
Jan 13, 2026
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3 min read
Abdallah Abu-Sheikh’s Mal, raises $230M in largest Seed round in MENA for AI-powered Islamic finance platform
The round was led by BlueFive Capital, which manages more than $4 billion in assets, with participation from strategic investors and family offices.
Fintech
+3
Jan 9, 2026
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3 min read
Revolut continues UAE hiring spree, as it eyes acquisition of neobank FUPS in Turkey
The London-headquartered fintech is advertising new roles across compliance, risk, and senior commercial leadership, including a Head of Marketing and Growth.
Fintech
+4
Dec 5, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+3
Dec 4, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+4
Nov 27, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+3
Nov 14, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+3
Nov 14, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+3
Nov 4, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+3
Nov 4, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+4
Oct 29, 2025
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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
Fintech
+4
Oct 21, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+3
Oct 15, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+2
Oct 8, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+3
Sep 24, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+3
Sep 19, 2025
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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
Fintech
+4
Sep 15, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+4
Sep 15, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+4
Sep 13, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+2
Sep 11, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+3
Sep 9, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+4
Sep 8, 2025
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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.
Fintech
+4
Sep 1, 2025
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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.
