The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is experiencing a rapid expansion of its fintech ecosystem, fueled by supportive government initiatives, rapid digital adoption, and continued capital inflows.

During 2023 and 2024, US$1.9 billion was invested across 237 deals, according to McKinsey. This momentum carried out into 2025, with a total of US$598 million secured across 93 deals in the first half of the year, data from Magnitt show.

This growth has been driven by the region’s a young, tech-savvy population eager for more convenient financial services, a large unbanked and underbanking population, and strong government backing, particularly in the Gulf, to make fintech a core part of their economic diversification strategies.

These forces have accelerated the development of the local fintech landscape. Over the last few years, the landscape has seen the number of fintech companies has grown to more than 1,000. Among these, three have reached unicorn status, with many more are in the pipeline.

Today, we take a closer look at MENA’s emerging fintech soonicorns poised to achieve unicorn status, and the region’s rising decacorn contenders, already valued in the billions and on track to surpass the US$10 billion mark.

Tabby

With a valuation of US$4.5 billion, Tabby is the most valuable private fintech company in MENA. This valuation, reached in October following the completion of a secondary share sale, places the company on track to attain decacorn status.

Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Saudi Arabia, Tabby is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider that allows users to shop and split their purchases into four interest-free payments or up to 12 months. The company, which operates in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait, reports 20 million users, and works with 45,000 global brands and small businesses, including SHEIN, Amazon, Adidas, IKEA, H&M, Samsung and Noon, supporting them with flexible payment options online and in stores.

Tabby claims US$10 billion in annualized volume, and a fivefold year-over-year (YoY) revenue growth. The startup has raised more than US$600 million in funding, according to Dealroom.

MNT-Halan

With a valuation of US$1 billion, MNT-Halan is one of MENA’s fintech unicorns, and among the region’s most valuable fintech companies.

Founded in 2018, MNT-Halan is a leading fintech platform from Egypt providing a range of products and services, including business and consumer loans, pre-paid cards, e-wallets, savings and e-commerce services, through the Halan app and nationwide physical presence. The company claims it has served more than 8 million customers globally, and has disbursed over US$11 billion in loans.

In September 2025, MNT-Halan launched Egypt’s first secured lending solution offered by a non-banking financial institution. The new service enables customers to instantly access up to 80% of their investments in funds through a fully digital journey on the Halan App.

This product builds on the company’s broader investment offering, which includes gold funds, equity opportunity funds, Sharia-compliant investment options, as well as Halan Savings, a flexible, daily return product.

In addition to its home country of Egypt, MNT-Halan also operates in Turkey, Pakistan, and the UAE. The company has raised a total of US$550 million funding raised so far, making it the most well-funded fintech company in Egypt.

Tamara

Another fintech unicorn from MENA is Tamara, a Saudi Arabian startup and one of the region’s most valuable fintech companies.

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Riyadh, Tamara is another leading BNPL platform in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The company allows businesses to offer flexible payment options, including payment in full at the time of purchase, or split payments into two, three, or four interest-free installments, with no hidden fees. Its services are available for both online and in-store transactions.

Tamara serves more than 20 million customers, and is partnered with major global and regional brands such as Apple, SHEIN, Jarir, noon, IKEA, and Amazon, as well as thousands of small and medium-sized businesses.

In September, Tamara secured a significant Sharia-compliant asset-backed facility from major financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Apollo funds to strengthen its lending capacity and support its expansion into new credit and payment products. The deal includes an initial US$1.4 billion with an additional US$1 billion available for a three-year period, pending further approvals.

In October, Tamara received a restricted finance license from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), achieving full regulatory status. The company is currently available across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Tamara is backed by Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned company by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), SNB Capital, amongst others. It has raised about US$550 million in equity funding to date, according to Dealroom.

Yassir

With a valuation between US$600 million and US$800 million, Algeria’s Yassir is one of the region’s fintech soonicorn, firmly on a trajectory toward unicorn startup.

Founded in 2017, Yassir is a super app offering ride-hailing, food and grocery delivery, and financial services, such as digital payments, savings, and lending. The platform allows users to book rides with verified drivers, order meals or groceries for delivery, and use integrated financial services, all through a single mobile application.

Yassir operates across six countries and 45 cities and serves more than 8 million users. The company has raised nearly US$200 million in funding, and is backed by BOND, Y Combinator, and Stanford Alumni Ventures.

Rain

Another fintech startup on track to become a unicorn is Rain, which currently boasts a valuation of about US$500 million.

Headquartered in Bahrain, Rain is a leading regulated crypto assets brokerage and custodian services provider in the Middle East.

Rain was the first crypto company to enter the Central Bank of Bahrain’s (CBB) regulatory sandbox back in 2017, working with regulators to develop a compliant crypto services framework.

In 2019, the company graduated from CBB’s sandbox program, becoming the first licensed crypto-asset service provider in the Middle East. In 2023, it received a financial services permission from the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), enabling it to offer broker-dealer and custody services in the UAE.

Rain is now licensed in Bahrain and the UAE, and operates in Turkey where it is in the process of applying for a local license. Rain now serves 10 countries across the region and offers more than 45 coins.

NymCard

Although slightly earlier in its valuation journey, NymCard is growing rapidly and has emerged as one of the region’s most promising soonicorns. According to Dealroom, this UAE-based fintech is currently valued between US$132 million and US$198 million, making it one of MENA’s most closely watched emerging fintech players.

Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Abu Dhabi, NymCard is an embedded finance platform in MENA, offering a full-stack, API-first payment infrastructure for banks, fintech companies, enterprises, and telecom providers. Operating across 10+ countries, NymCard enables seamless card issuance, transaction processing, digital lending, and real-time money movement through its proprietary nCore platform.

To date, NymCard has partnered with 50+ firms, delivering personalized financial offerings across the region. In March 2025, it secured US$33 million in its latest Series B funding round to deepen its presence across MENA, strengthening its payment infrastructure solutions to better serve its customers across its three core verticals of card issuing processing, embedded lending, and money movement.

NymCard was named in this year’s CB Insights Fintech 100, which recognizes the world’s top 100 most promising fintech startups based on commercial traction, partnerships, momentum, and growth potential.

CredibleX

Valued also in the hundred of millions of dollar range is CredibleX. This UAE-based fintech startup is valued between US$110 million and US$165 million, making it one of MENA’s most promising soonicorns.

Founded in 2023 in Abu Dhabi, CredibleX is an embedded lending platform, enabling businesses to provide their SME customers and distributor partners with instant, hassle-free access to credit, directly from the platforms they already use. The company aims to bridge the financing gap for the region’s underserved SMEs, allowing businesses to apply for financing, including receivables financing, payables financing, and short-term loans, in minutes and receive funds within 24-48 hours.

CredibleX works with over 60 distribution partners, and is regulated by the FSRA at ADGM with a lending license. In September 2025, it secured a US$100 million senior secured credit facility from Pollen Street Capital.

Like NymCard, CredibleX was also named in the 2025 CB Insights Fintech 100 list, underscoring its rapid growth and market impact.

Thndr

Finally, with a valuation of about US$100 million and strong growth momentum, Thndr is another emerging fintech startup from MENA that’s worth following closely.

Founded in 2020 and based in Cairo, Thndr is a mobile-first investment platform that allows users to invest in local and international stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and other financial products. The platform serves over 4 million users, and represents 11% of retail trading volume on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX), with US$3.5 billion in traded value. It manages 47% of assets in local gold mutual funds, further reflecting its prominence in the Egyptian investment industry.

Thndr was the entry point for 82% of new retail investors, underscoring its role in improving access to wealth products.

In May 2025, the startup raised US$15.7 million in new funding, bringing its total current capital to US$37.76 million. The capital aims to support its regional expansion across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), especially in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Most recently, it released ThndrX, a professional-grade trading platform, and launched Thndr Alpha, a guided investing feature for everyday individuals.

Thndr is another MENA startup featured in the 2025 CB Insights Fintech 100 list, recognized for its growth and market impact in investment access.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Middle East, based on images by nindy656583 and PSD KING via Freepik