Tagged: mena region

January 16, 2023 @ 3:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Connecting France and The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a “first of its kind” strategic tech partnership, Foodics, the cloud-based restaurant management technology and payments platform in the MENA region, has announced it has partnered with French-based tech start-up Partoo, who “help brands manage and… Read More

January 12, 2023 @ 9:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

IFIN, which claims to be the first of its kind Islamic Fintech, announces its partnership with Bank Nizwa, Oman’s “first” full-fledged Islamic bank in the Sultanate, offering a plethora of Shariah-compliant products and services, “to introduce instant Islamic ‘Goods Financing’ with the aim of enriching… Read More

January 8, 2023 @ 5:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) announced the launch of the Open Banking Lab according to the Open Banking Framework issued by SAMA November 2022. The Open Banking Lab aims “to enable innovation and accelerate the development of open banking services in the Kingdom as it… Read More

January 6, 2023 @ 6:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

PayBy, a Fintech firm recently acquired by Astra Tech in August 2022, has been licensed by the Central Bank of the UAE “to conduct Stored Value Facility (SVF) and Retail Payment Services (RPS) operations.” The license “represents one of the country’s highest levels of financial… Read More

January 4, 2023 @ 10:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a bid to further strengthen Abu Dhabi’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, Flat6Labs, the MENA region’s seed-stage program and early-stage venture capital firm, and Wio Bank, the region’s first platform bank, have “signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).” Under the agreement, startups from Flat6Labs Ignite, a specialized… Read More

December 29, 2022 @ 9:56 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Dubai Chamber of Commerce has announced the launch of a new Fintech & Payments Business Group aimed at bringing together companies of all sizes “within the fintech and payments sector to encourage collegial dialogue, advocate policy change and promote the emirate as a highly competitive global… Read More

December 29, 2022 @ 9:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pak-Qatar Takaful Group and BLINQ Solutions Private Limited have reportedly entered an agreement with a goal to streamline payment collections and assist existing and new clients with making payments from an extensive range of payment solutions. According to a statement made on December 26, Saqib… Read More

December 23, 2022 @ 6:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Egypt’s digital restaurant supply chain startup Suplyd recently closes $1.6M funding round Suplyd, a startup that digitizes supply chain operations for the MENA region’s hotels, restaurants, and catering (HORECA) industries, announced their $1.6M pre-seed round funded “by Endure Capital, Seedstars, Camel Ventures, Falak Startups alongside… Read More

December 23, 2022 @ 3:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UAE-based Fintech Galaxy, the “first” Central Bank-regulated Open Finance platform in the Middle East, announced the acquisition of Underlie, an Egypt-based Open Banking platform offering APIs to banks and businesses. The deal will help “to set FTG’s Open Finance and Open Banking wheels in full… Read More

December 19, 2022 @ 9:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) recently announced the licensing of Manafa – a finance company specialized in debt-based crowdfunding in the Kingdom. Manafa is “a closed joint-stock company with a capital of SAR 40 million.” The license was granted to the company “after a successful… Read More

December 19, 2022 @ 8:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard (NASDAQ: MQ) brings Apple Pay to its cardholders in Kuwait. Apple Pay is “providing a safer, more secure and private way to pay that helps customers avoid handing their payment card to someone else, touching physical buttons or exchanging cash — and uses the… Read More

December 16, 2022 @ 7:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Celesta Capital, a deep technology venture capital firm, announced that it has created a formal partnership with The Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and IT (MTCIT) and the Public Authority for Special Economic and Free Zones (OPAZ). Celesta Capital has “had a longstanding… Read More

December 14, 2022 @ 11:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Azentio Software, a Singapore-headquartered technology firm owned by funds managed by Apax Partners, announced that National Bonds, the UAE’s Shariah-compliant savings and investment company owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, has “selected Azentio’s Islamic Banking solution, iMAL, to support its quest to improve process… Read More

December 11, 2022 @ 10:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

IFZA Dubai, which claims to be the UAE’s most “dynamic” and “truly” international Free Zone, has entered into a partnership agreement with Wio Bank, the region’s “first” platform bank, “to provide IFZA Free Zone companies with quick and convenient access to digital banking services and… Read More

December 5, 2022 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Saudi British Bank (SABB) has announced a strategic partnership with Visa’s Cybersource payment gateway and risk platform, “with the aim of fostering the bank’s growth in an evolving and dynamic eCommerce space.” This partnership will “enhance the overall capabilities of SABB’s Payment Gateway and, most… Read More

November 28, 2022 @ 11:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Checkout.com releases the second phase of its Digital Transformation in MENA 2022 report. Following the launch of part one last month – which included insights from 15,000 consumers in the region – the next chapter “interviews businesses and their leaders at the forefront of the… Read More

November 26, 2022 @ 7:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

UAE-headquartered fintech Qashio has raised $10 million in a seed round, “with participation from strategic international and regional investors to accelerate expansion into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” The investment round is “supported by global investors such as One Way Ventures (early investors in Brex),… Read More

November 25, 2022 @ 4:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Sygnum, which claims to be the world’s first digital asset bank and first Swiss bank to open a hub in the metaverse, leverages its oversubscribed USD 90m Series B “to expand internationally into Abu Dhabi’s high-growth crypto-hub.” In addition to this, Sygnum is further strengthening… Read More

November 24, 2022 @ 8:32 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

CoverGo, the global no-code insurance SaaS platform for P&C, health, and life, is expanding to the Middle East “after a US$15 million Series A funding, with a Middle East insurance fund Noria Capital joining as one of the strategic investors.” CoverGo has been “adopted by… Read More

November 24, 2022 @ 2:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ta3meed, which claims to be the “only” Purchase Orders (PO) financing platform in Saudi Arabia has selected Moneythor as a partner for its digital banking & loyalty management platform “to implement smart loyalty features in its innovative Islamic financing solution.” In line with Saudi Arabia’s… Read More