Salam, fintech friends!
Six weeks and a ceasefire later, the war has somewhat settled into the background, at least for parts of the Middle East. Across the Gulf and North Africa, fintech is making a steady comeback.
Nubank is setting up its new headquarters in Abu Dhabi, marking the latest in a string of international heavyweights planting a flag here, following Revolut in Dubai and Blackstone's $250 million bet a few weeks ago. Bain Capital just opened an office in ADGM, targeting digital infrastructure and fintech. France's ChangeNOW chose Dubai for its first Middle East home.
On the ground, the funding rounds return: Lucky's $23 million Series B, Jozo's tokenization seed in Saudi, INVIA's raise in Egypt. Regulators across the UAE, Saudi, and Qatar are still at their desks: new virtual asset frameworks, a nationwide eKYC platform, SPAC regulations, a mandatory e-commerce licensing framework in Qatar.
Here's this week's full roundup.
💸 Fundraises and Exits
🇦🇪 PayTabs, UAE-based payment orchestration player, acquires TAPn’GO
🇪🇬 Lucky, Egyptian consumer credit platform, raises $23 million in a Series B funding round led by Disruptech Ventures and DPI Venture Capital
🇸🇦 Saudi’s Jozo, a real estate tokenization platform, raises $2.21 million in seed funding from angel investors
🇸🇦 Saudi’s AVA receives an undisclosed investment from Plug and Play Middle East
🇪🇬 Egypt’s INVIA, an AI-powered financial OS for SMEs, raises $1.2 million from angel investors.
💰 Funds
🇦🇪 DFDF partners with Second Century Ventures (SCV) to identify, fund and support proptech start-ups
🇸🇦 King Street signs Saudi’s PIF as an anchor investor for a new private credit fund targeting KSA and the wider MENA region
🇦🇪 Bain Capital opens an office in ADGM to expand its MENA portfolio, targeting digital infrastructure and fintech.
🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches
🇦🇪 Qashio introduces its “Qashio for you” program to provide AED 10 million in financial relief and welcome benefits to eligible businesses
🇦🇪 du Pay signs with the Phillipines’ GCash to expedite remittance services for Filipino expats
🇦🇪 Emirates NBD offers a business support package to provide temporary fee relief to SMEs
🇦🇪 Careem Pay adds Turkey and Saudi Arabia to its remittance network
🇦🇪 Nubank is set to establish a new HQ in Abu Dhabi
🇦🇪 Careem Pay partners with Adyen to scale its digital remittance service in Europe, the Middle East and South Asia
🇦🇪🇫🇷 France’s ChangeNOW, a non-custodial crypto exchange platform, opens its doors in Dubai.
🏛 Licensing & Regulations
🇦🇪 The Abu Dhabi Financial Services Regulatory Authority grants Hillhouse Investment Management a Category 3C license
🇦🇪 The DIFC introduces economic support measures to help businesses, including flexible payment plans, installment options and employee registration
🇦🇪 The UAE Central Bank announces the development of a nationwide electronic KYC platform
🇸🇦 Saudi’s Capital Market Authority approves a regulatory frameworks for offering SPACs in the Nomu Parallel Market
🇶🇦 Qatar’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry introduces a mandatory e-commercing licensing framework
🇦🇪 The UAE’s Capital Market Authority grants XTB, a Poland-based publicly listed investment app, a Category 1 and 2 license
🇦🇪 Dubai’s VARA issues the Virtual Assets Issuance Rulebook for how digital assets are created, disclosed and distributed in a licensed environment
🇦🇪 The UAE Central Bank grants MBME Pay a Payment Service Provider license
🇦🇪 The UAE CMA issues a Virtual Assets Framework, expanding the scope of regulated virtual asset activities from 3 to 8.
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Until next week,
Salam ✌🏼
