Tagged: mena

April 14, 2025 @ 9:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A research paper from ThruHQ, entitled, “Egyptian B2B directory” unveils what appears tobe a “significant disconnect” in Egypt’s online business-to-business sector. The latest research findings, which are said to be derived from the curation of ThruHQ‘s initial batch of listings, indicate that while “95% of… Read More

April 11, 2025 @ 2:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Checkout.com, a global digital payments company, announced its intention to expand its card issuing capabilities in the UAE. Checkout.com aims to roll out domestic card issuance “in the region in 2026, pending regulatory approval.” This will enable businesses to launch branded cards, whether physical or… Read More

April 3, 2025 @ 8:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Fuse, founded by TrueLayer veterans, has raised $6.6 million in a funding round led by Northzone. Other investors include Flourish Ventures, Alter Global, and angel investors. Fuse is a payments Fintech targeting the MENA region. The company says it is focusing on the “payments bottlenecks”… Read More

March 19, 2025 @ 1:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

NymCard, the embedded finance platform operating across 10+ countries in MENA, has secured $33 million in its Series B funding round, led by QED Investors. This marks QED Investors’ most “significant” investment in the region – and the first time leading a deal in the… Read More

March 4, 2025 @ 7:41 pm By Michael Wong  |  

UAE-based Fintech Flow48 has secured $69 million in a Series A funding round comprising debt and equity, as it seeks to scale its SME financing solutions in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The round was led by Breega and included participation from 212,… Read More

February 25, 2025 @ 7:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Yuno, a payment orchestration platform, and the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar (Invest Qatar), announced a partnership that will accelerate Yuno’s expansion into the Middle East, with the establishment of a regional headquarters in Qatar. This move—unveiled at Web Summit Qatar 2025—reportedly aligns with Qatar’s Third… Read More

February 18, 2025 @ 9:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Myne, a wealth and asset tracking platform, announced that the firm has secured $2 million and has now finalized its pre-seed round. The new investment round was led by Scene Holding, followed by Raz Holding with “participation from Plus VC, the most active VC in… Read More

February 16, 2025 @ 11:50 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tether Operations Limited, which claims to be one of the largest companies in the digital asset industry, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Reelly Tech, one of the real estate B2B platforms in the UAE. This marks an advancement in the evolution of… Read More

February 11, 2025 @ 9:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tabby, a UAE-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) player, has reportedly hired banks to prepare for an eventual initial public offering (IPO). The company is said to be in talks with HSBC, JPMorgan, and Morgan Stanley for a public offering in Saudi Arabia, potentially in… Read More

February 5, 2025 @ 9:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Eastnets, a global firm enabling and supporting compliance, payments, and cloud solutions, has launched a SWIFT Service Bureau in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Designed to empower institutions with compliant solutions, the Eastnets KSA Service Bureau delivers seamless SWIFT connectivity, cloud-enabled operations, and “adherence… Read More

January 7, 2025 @ 5:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Doha Bank in Qatar has officially introduced Visa Commercial Pay. Doha Bank, which claims to be one of the largest private commercial banks in Qatar is reportedly set to become the first banking platform in the market to  launch Visa Commercial Pay (VCP) and the… Read More

December 29, 2024 @ 8:08 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) licensed “Majd Saudi Payments” to provide E-wallet solutions. With Majd Saudi Payments, there are now “26 licensed companies offering payment services” in Saudi Arabia. This decision reflects SAMA’s goal to support the payments sector, increase the efficiency of financial transactions,… Read More

December 26, 2024 @ 8:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Zid, Saudi Arabia’s commerce enablement platform, has unveiled ‘Total Commerce’ – which is described as a unified ecosystem redefining digital retail – at Ripple 2024. The development is said to be important for retail innovation in Saudi Arabia and across the region as well. Sultan… Read More

December 20, 2024 @ 9:41 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) held their second bilateral meeting, reinforcing cooperation and connectivity between the financial services sectors of the two jurisdictions. Building on the initial bilateral meeting held in Abu Dhabi in… Read More

December 16, 2024 @ 12:40 pm By JD Alois  |  

OurCrowd revealed a new VC investment center in Abu Dhabi to manage deals for its platform while expanding its market back in late 2022.  At the same time, the investment platform announced an AI hub named Integrated Data Intelligence Ltd (IDI), which seeks to develop… Read More

December 3, 2024 @ 9:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Themis, a global firm that’s focused on financial crime prevention, announces the official launch of Tathabbat. This reportedly marks an important step in Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing compliance landscape, aligning with Vision 2030 as well as the Middle Eastern nation’s ongoing push to adopt innovative Know-Your-Finance… Read More

October 15, 2024 @ 10:02 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sarwa reportedly offers options trading to their customers, becoming one of the “first” fintech platforms in the Middle East to do so. Sarwa and Alpaca’s partnership has grown since 2021, and they are pleased to acknowledge Sarwa’s efforts and progress on achieving this first-to-market milestone…. Read More

October 15, 2024 @ 9:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto.com and BENEFIT, the company that’s focused on FinTech and electronic financial transactions services in Bahrain, have recently announced they will begin discussions on combining their expertise and help expand the digital assets and fintech ecosystem in Bahrain. The companies signed an MOU at the… Read More

October 13, 2024 @ 2:25 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Bahrain Fintech Bay (BFB), a financial technology hub, announced the establishment of the MENA Innovation Academy (MENA-IA) to enhance Fintech expertise and career readiness across the Middle East and North Africa region. The academy is launched in partnership with Reboot Coding Institute (Reboot01), an academic… Read More

October 12, 2024 @ 6:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Gemcorp Capital, a global asset management firm focused on emerging markets, has received a Financial Services Permission (FSP) from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) in order to operate in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and has opened a business office in Abu Dhabi…. Read More