Salam, fintech friends!
Two months in, the ceasefire brokered by Pakistan and extended by Trump is holding loosely. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to commercial shipping, negotiations are stalled and nobody is quite sure what comes next. The region is sitting with that uncertainty, and getting on with things anyway.
MENA’s fintech sector saw some interesting developments in the last 2 weeks, including:
Comfi closing a $65 million Pre-Series A round
Rain acquiring Digital Ma’arefa, a Saudi financial media company–an interesting move for a crypto exchange looking to own more of the education and awareness layer in the Kingdom
Speedinvest launching its first MEA fund, putting early-growth capital behind fintech and other sectors across the region
tabby receiving a SVF license in the UAE: a regulatory unlock that inches it closer to a full financial platform
Stablecoins showing up in the infrastructure layer: MoneyGram partnering with NALA for cross-border payouts, BurjX adding multi-chain fails across Tron, BNB, Solana and Stellar.
And more–the full roundup continues below!
💸 Fundraises and Exits
🇦🇪 Comfi, UAE-based B2B embedded finance platform, closes a $65 million Pre-Series A round, including $5 million in equity led by Illiad Partners and $60 million in debt facilities
🇧🇭🇸🇦 Bahrain’s Rain acquires Digital Ma’arefa, a Saudi-based financial media company
🇪🇬 Fawry MSME Finance, Fawry’s microfinance arm, raises $4.75 million in a loan facility from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
💰 Funds
🇦🇹 Speedinvest introduces its first flagship fund for early-growth stage companies across MEA, investing across fintech, health, climate, AI, consumer and core digital infrastructure
🇶🇦🇲🇽 The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) invests in Plata’s $405 million Series C round
🇦🇪🇰🇷 The UAE’s Shorooq invests in South Korean automotive fintech Chazm’s $10.3 million Series A round.
🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches
🇦🇪 MoneyGram partners with stablecoin payments company, NALA, to support cross-border payouts into emerging markets using stablecoin-based settlement infrastructure
🇦🇪 BurjX supports wider stablecoin usage, allowing customers to transfer stablecoins across multiple blockchain networks, including USDT on Tron, USDT on BNB Smart Chain, USDC on Solana and USDC on Stellar
🇦🇪 Stake partners with Swiss investment group, ACE & Company, to build liquidity solutions for investors in Stake products
🇦🇪 Takeem introduces the UAE’s first rental guarantee service to cover landlords against non-payment.
🏛 Licensing & Regulations
🇦🇪 Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank becomes the first bank in the UAE to receive a Third-Party Provider license, or Open Finance provider, under the Central Bank’s AlTareq initiative
🇦🇪 tabby receives a Stored Values Facilities license in the UAE, allowing it to hold customer funds and launch new financial products, including spending accounts, cards and other money management tools
🇦🇪 The Dubai International Financial Centre shares its plans to become the world’s first AI-native financial centre
🇦🇪 The UAE’s Central Bank bans banks and financial institutions from communicating via instant messaging platforms
🇦🇪 Sahm receives its DFSA license
🇸🇦 Saudi’s Central Bank licenses MISPay to offer BNPL services
🇪🇬 Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority grants Fawry for Microinsurance a license to introduce low-cost coverage for health, life, personal accidents and assets targeting gig workers and small businesses.
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Until next week,
Salam ✌🏼
