Salam, fintech friends!
A belated Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating, and welcome back from the (much-needed) break! There’s lots to catch up on.
Fasset raises $51 million to expand its stablecoin-powered neobanking platform across emerging markets
Vista Equity Partners, a $100 billion enterprise software investor, opens a regional office in Abu Dhabi
Kraken receives preliminary approval from VARA to operate in Dubai
Plus: new research from Fintech Saudi shows a 30x growth in the industry between 2018 and 2025.
It's a big one. Here's everything!
💸 Fundraises and Exits
🇹🇳 Tunisia’s EYST Technology, an insurtech platform, raises a six-figure investment from 216 Capital
🇸🇦 Saudi-based digital financing platform, Arib, raises $23.5 million in a funding round led by Merak Capital
🇦🇪 Fasset, a stablecoin-powered neobanking platform, raises $51 million in Series B funding from Bahrain’s Investcorp and other global investors
🇦🇪 The UAE’s RemotePass raises $17.4 million in Series B funding led by EBRD Venture Capital
💰 Funds
🇦🇪 Vista Equity Partners, a US-based enterprise software investment firm, opens a regional office in Abu Dhabi
🇯🇴 Jordan Capital and Investment Fund introduces Manara Ventures: a $70.5 million growth-stage fund backed by Lunate and other regional institutional investors
🇦🇪 Dubai Future District Fund invests in Camber Creek, a US-based proptech venture capital firm backing companies transforming real estate across property management, investment, tenant services and digital transactions
🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches
🇦🇪 Adyen furthers its partnership with SAP to launch SAP Unified Payment
🇦🇪 Mashreq Bank launches Money Insights: a personal financial management tool embedded within the NEO mobile banking app
🇪🇬 Valu partners with ElTawkeel.com to launch a digital car platform with an embedded auto-financing feature
🇦🇪 Deem Finance and Yusr partner to launch a BNPL service for the automotive sector
🇦🇪 Mawarid Finance and Maghanim partner to launch a Shariah-compliant B2B card and expense management platform to help UAE companies automate corporate travel spending
🇦🇪 Mastercard launches the Mastercard Lighthouse program in the UAE, an accelerator connecting local AI and fintech companies with global banks
🇸🇦 Riyad Bank partners with Mastercard to introduce a travel and expense corporate card program
🇦🇪 The UAE Cybersecurity Council partners with QuantumGate to deploy the national Crypto Discovery Tool
🇦🇪 Mawarid Finance deploys Fimple’s cloud-native secondary core banking system to introduce BaaS infrastructure across the UAE
In other news…
🇸🇦 New research by Fintech Saudi finds the industry grew 30x between 2018 and 2025, reaching 301 players by the end of last year, from 10 only 7 years ago. This growth is underpinned by a quick shift toward cashless payments, rising business digital lending and an uptake in digital wealth management.
🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi Global Markets reports a 57% increase in AUM in Q1 2026, surpassing 13,000 active licenses, with asset managers newly registered in the jurisdiction this quarter alone representing $4.4 trillion in global assets.
🏛 Licensing & Regulations
🇦🇪 The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) grants Mal, a UAE-based Islamic digital bank, in-principle approval to establish a licensed bank in the UAE
🇦🇪 The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) grants Lianlian DigiTech, a Chinese digital payments provider, a payments services license to operate within the DIFC
🇦🇪 The Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority licenses Cantor, a US-based global investment bank, with a Financial Services Permission
🇦🇪 Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority grants Kraken’s Payward a preliminary approval to operate in Dubai
🇸🇦 Saudi’s Central Bank announces new notice requirements for licensed non-bank financial institutions announcing investment rounds.
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Until next week,
Salam ✌🏼
