Tagged: middle east

Qatar Investment Authority to Launch VC Fund of Funds

Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is set to launch Qatar’s “first” venture capital (VC) Fund of Funds, a strategic investment program to foster innovation in Qatar. The Fund of Funds program will “invest more than USD 1 billion in international and regional venture capital funds.” The… Read More

Bahrain’s Eazy Financial Services Partners with Visa

Eazy Financial Services (EazyPay), a Bahraini financial institute specialized in Point-of-Sale (POS) and online payment gateway acquiring services, has joined forces with Visa (NYSE: V), a global leader in digital payments, in order “to enable Visa Direct, a cutting-edge funds transfer solution for EazyPay’s customer… Read More

DIFC Innovation Hub Teams Up with Wealth Management Firm, Julius Baer, and Financial Market Infrastructure Euroclear

DIFC Innovation Hub, which claims to be the largest start-up and innovation hub in the world operating out of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the global financial centre in the MEASA) region, is collaborating with global Swiss wealth management firm, Julius Baer, and the Financial… Read More

MENA Region’s Mashreq Signs MoU with Fintech Fils to Introduce Corporate Carbon Offsetting Offering

Mashreq, which claims to be one of the leading financial institutions in the MENA region, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAE-based fintech firm, Fils, in order to “develop a corporate carbon offsetting offering that helps corporate and institutional clients to integrate… Read More

Paymob, the Financial Services Provider in MENA and Pakistan, Teams Up with Tamara

Paymob, the financial services enabler in the MENA and Pakistan region, has announced its partnership with Tamara, the shopping and payments platform in the GCC region. The strategic partnership integrates Tamara’s Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) service with Paymob’s secure gateway in order “to power… Read More

UAE’s Maalexi, the Dynamic Risk Management Platform for SME Agri-Businesses, Acquires Funding

Maalexi, the UAE-based dynamic risk management platform for SME agri-businesses, announces its completion of a $3 million pre-Series A fund raise. The investment round was reportedly “led exclusively by Global Ventures – MENA’s venture capital firm – which joins existing venture capital investors Rockstart (Amsterdam)… Read More

Global Fintech Airwallex Appoints Nadav Tamam to Lead Enterprise Business in Israel, Middle East

Global Fintech Airwallex has reportedly announced the appointment of Nadav Tamam in order to spearhead its enterprise business focused on Israel and the Middle East region. As reported by news outlets focused on Israel, Tamam has prior experience working at firms like Google as well… Read More

Fintech Firm Alipay+ Announces Initiative to Streamline Shopping Experience for International Visitors to Dubai

Dubai Duty Free, which claims to be one of the largest travel retail operators, announced its partnership with Alipay+ in order “to power a seamless travel and checkout experience for international visitors.” Consumers from South Korea, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand, Mongolia, Italy as well as… Read More

Hakbah, a Fintech Savings Platform, Partners with Tarabut, MENA’s Open Banking Provider

Hakbah – the KSA-based fintech savings platform – announces a new partnership with Tarabut – MENA’s open banking platform, and an investor in the region’s digital transformation. The partnership has several benefits for Hakbah as it “simplifies and expedites various tasks.” It will enable streamlined… Read More

Saudi Central Bank SAMA Seeks Public Consultation on Amendments to Principles of Governance for Financial Institutions

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) seeks public consultation on draft amendments to the “Key Principles of Governance in Financial Institutions under the control and supervision of the Saudi Central Bank.” In this context, SAMA invites stakeholders to “provide suggestions and observations on the draft by… Read More

Central Banks Likely to Keep Interest Rates Higher for Longer in Economies with Elevated Core Inflation – IMF Analysis

Central banks will likely keep interest rates higher for longer in economies with persistently elevated core inflation (excluding food and energy prices), according to an update shared by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF noted that the high-interest-rate environment, which recently “triggered banking sector… Read More

UAE’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority Makes Revisions to Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Rules and Guidance

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) has announced revisions to its Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions Rules and Guidance (the AML Rulebook). The FSRA has made revisions that “clarify the requirements that previously appeared in the AML Rulebook, reflecting the federal regulatory framework the UAE has… Read More

Kuwait Clearing Company Joins Real-Time Gross Settlement System

The Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) announced that Kuwait Clearing Company (KCC) has now joined the Real Time Gross Settlement System (KASSIP), “effective Sunday 24/12/2023 upon completion of automated linking and passing the technical tests.” The system would thereby “execute final settlements for financial transactions… Read More

Tabby, MENA Region’s Digital Commerce and Financial Services App, Secures Up to $700M in Receivables Securitization from JP Morgan

Tabby, the MENA’s shopping and financial services app, has secured up to $700 million in receivables securitization from J.P. Morgan. The deal represents the largest asset-backed facility “obtained by a fintech company in the MENA region.” In parallel to the securitization financing, Tabby has “extended… Read More

Tamara, the Fintech Platform to Shop, Pay and Bank in Saudi Arabia and GCC Region, Acquires $340M via Series C

Tamara, the fintech platform to shop, pay and bank in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region, has achieved the historic milestone of becoming the Kingdom’s “first” homegrown fintech unicorn by securing $340 million in a Series C equity funding round. This investment round was… Read More

UK Economy Remains Relatively Weak, as High Interest Rates and Policy Uncertainty Take Toll on Global Growth – Report

The UK economy is limping along while high interest rates and policy uncertainty take their toll on global growth, according to an update from KPMG. KPMG noted that activity has outperformed expectations, but the UK economy “remains weak and vulnerable to shocks.” Here are some… Read More

UAE’s Legaltech Clara Acquires BOTH Corporate Services Limited as Part of Business Growth Strategy

UAE-based legaltech Clara announced its acquisition of BOTH Corporate Services Limited (BCS), a provider of corporate services in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). This deal is a key milestone for Clara as it initiates “an acquisition strategy to expand its customer base and extend its… Read More

Accenture to Enable Commercial Bank of Dubai’s Tech Transformation in Middle East

Accenture (NYSE: ACN) has signed a strategic agreement with the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) in order to drive its technology transformation program and “further enhance its banking services to personal and business customers.” Accenture will set up “a development center of excellence (COE) to… Read More

Equity Management Platform Carta Announces Middle East Expansion

Global equity management company Carta announced plans to expand operations to the Middle East—citing a 180% increase in year-over-year bookings across the broader Asia Pacific region, and “launching with flagship Middle East customers including Global Ventures, BECO Capital, Cotu Ventures, and Outliers VC and Middle… Read More

Abu Dhabi: Digital Asset Firm Copper to Facilitate Transition of Financial Market Infrastructure to Blockchain-based Rails

Copper will facilitate the transition of financial market infrastructure to blockchain-based rails addressing key goals in Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision. Integration of blockchain-based services with financial infrastructure “will provide a solid foundation for the expansion of the local capital markets and attract international investors to… Read More

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