Pakistani fintech startups are making their mark in what is a relatively small but growing startup ecosystem. In Q1 this year, Pakistani fintech startups fetched funding of US$19.3 million in what Bloomberg called a fintech “startup funding rush.” Of this, US$15 million came from foreign investors, who ploughed US$48 million into Pakistani fintech startups last year. With interest in the sector booming, here are our top 8 Pakistani fintech startups to watch in 2021. While some have been featured by us previously, several of these are new entrants, founded in the COVID era. Top Pakistani Fintech Startups Finja Industry: Digital…

The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), Buna and Visa have signed an MoU to collaborate over regional payments between the Arab world and the rest of the world, according to a recent statement. The MoU makes way for a mutual interoperability between Visa and Buna, an AMF-owned regional cross-border payment platform. It also looks to add additional rails of money transfer between the two systems and offer diversified payout options as well. Buna’s payment system allows financial institutions and central banks in the Arab region to send and receive payments in both local and select international currencies. Launched in February last…

Indian B2B digital payments company PayMate has announced its entry into the UAE market. The company will be stepping foot into the UAE in collaboration with Visa and Citi, according to a statement. The move is part of an existing collaboration between Visa and PayMate. With the move, PayMate will be extending automated payments and cash flow management to enterprises and their vendors in the UAE. PayMate provides B2B payment automation and working capital solutions. In addition to the UAE, the company is looking to expand into the CEMEA region as a Visa certified Business Payment Solution Provider. PayMate automates…

hala, an Abu Dhabi-based insurtech company, has secured US$5 million in a fresh fundraise, the company announced in a statement. The round was led by Entrée Capital, and saw participation from Mubadala Investment Company, EQ2 Ventures, Global Founders Capital, 500 Startups, and Hambro Perks Oryx Fund. hala, previously Addenda, was founded in 2018 as a fintech company that used blockchain to reconcile payments between motor insurance companies in the UAE. In Q4 2020, the company pivoted to providing motor insurance. Funding will be used to grow the company’s product suite, including home insurance, the company said in the statement. Further,…

Last year, global financial markets saw retail investors flood financial markets through online trading and investing platforms. A wave of first-time investors, dubbed “Generation Investor,” took to financial markets, as barriers to entry were lowered and online trading apps stepped up. This unprecedented boom in the participation of retail investors – a hot topic of discussion in finance circles for most of this year – ignited the growth of companies like Robinhood and Webull. Although the US has been the focus of this retail investing boom, ‘Generation Investor’ also took an interest in markets in Asia and the U.K. When…

Israel’s booming fintech landscape continues to stay in the global eye. Home to over 500 Israeli fintech startups, the country’s ascent as a hub for fintech has been both rapid and spectacular. Alongside being a frontrunner for fintech in the MENA region, Israeli capital Tel Aviv is also the fifth most popular fintech city in the world. Elsewhere, the country has also brokered several deals with Middle Eastern countries, such as the UAE and Azerbaijan, to build partnerships in this space. More recently, Israeli fintech startups raised a staggering US$2.3 billion in venture capital across 68 rounds, just in the…

Singaporean fintech Thunes has announced a partnership with one of Pakistan’s largest banks, Bank Alfalah. The partnership will enable the global payments fintech to offer cross-border payments in Pakistan, a statement said. Both Abu Dhabi Group-owned Bank Alfalah’s clients and the wider Pakistani banked population will be able to access Thunes’ payments offering. The facility will allow them to make cross-border payments in near real-time. With the partnership, Thunes’ global network for inbound consumer or business payments now extends to 113 countries. “Historically, cross-border money transfers to Pakistan have been complicated by the lack of transparency, long waiting times, and…

Islamic banking and financial services are picking up pace worldwide. Greater awareness, and improved legal and regulatory structures have helped to accelerate growth in Islamic banking and finance, according to a recent report by Mambu. The Islamic fintech market, for instance, is expected to be worth US$125 billion by 2025, the report said. The UK is home to most of these fintech companies, with 27 fintechs located in the country. Malaysia follows with 19 companies, and the UAE is next, with about 15 companies. Islamic banking, which is based on ethical banking principles that comply with Shariah law, is also…

In the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, demand for digital wallets is on the rise. This trend is fueled by the growth in digital payments and smartphone penetration, national reforms to modernize the payment landscape, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has accelerated the trend for contactless and digital payments. This landscape is setting the stage for the emergence of the MEA’s very own super apps, according to a new whitepaper by analyst and consultancy firm Omdia, commissioned by Irish paytech firm CR2. In Kenya, telecommunications operator Safaricom, one of the owners of the region’s mobile money leader M-Pesa, is…

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has launched Amwali, the world’s first Islamic digital bank for young people, according to an announcement. The UAE-based Islamic financial institution unveiled a suite of banking products and technology under the Amwali digital bank, for youth between the age of 8 to 18. The paperless, signature-less and branchless bank has been co-created with the Founders Club, an association of Emirati youth and parents. Amwali, which is Arabic for ‘my money’, is an “all-in-one banking solution” that offers its customers a dedicated digital banking experience, access to financial knowledge, and personalised offers, under parental control. With…

US-based fintech company Brex has acquired Israeli Application Programming Interface (API) developer Weav for US$50 million, according to a recent statement. The acquisition marks Brex’s entry into Israel. Weav’s co-founder and CEO Nadav Lidor will helm Brex’s team in Israel. Founded only last year, the company has raised US$4.5 million in seed funding so far. Its backers include Foundation Capital and Y Combinator, as well as Brex co-founders Henrique Dubugras and Pedro Franceschi. The company was part of Y Combinator’s W20 batch. The Israeli startup develops APIs for commerce platforms to access real-time, standardised data. The company helps to connect…

Jordan’s Arab Bank has launched a corporate fintech accelerator in Egypt, according to a recent announcement by the bank. The AB Accelerator, which was initially launched in Jordan in 2018, is a part of Arab Bank’s efforts to develop fintech banking solutions for the Egypt market. The fintech accelerator is aimed at early stage fintech startups, as well as startups in supporting fields such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Arab Bank is especially looking for startups that have a “strategic alignment” with Arab Bank, the statement said. The AB Accelerator will allow entrepreneurs to scale market-ready fintech solutions across the…

The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has launched the fifth edition of its flagship initiative Fintech Abu Dhabi Innovation Challenge. The challenge is part of the upcoming Fintech Abu Dhabi festival to be held in November this year. The ADGM has partnered with ‘Corporate Champions’ across financial, corporate and government sectors, to develop specific challenge statements. Champions include Emirates NBD, Etihad Credit Insurance, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Pearl Data Direct, The Saudi British Bank and Standard Chartered Bank. One of the challenge statements has been sponsored by the ADGM’s regulatory body Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). The challenge seeks suptech solutions…

European fintech ecosystem builder finleap entered into a strategic partnership with Bahraini telecoms company Batelco, according to an announcement earlier this week. The partnership is aimed at promoting open banking in the MENA region. Batelco recently became the first GCC-based company to secure an open banking license. The partnership will see finleap connect extend its open banking technology and digital frontend application to the newly formed Batelco Financial Services. Based on this, Batelco Financial Services will be launching its own open banking platform built on finleap connect’s technology. Batelco Financial Services aims to offer “a state-of-the-art financial service platform,” with…

Rental collection platform Ajar has expanded its operations to Bahrain, according to a recent announcement. With a presence in Kuwait and the UAE, the company will now offer its property management and rent collection in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The launch is an opportunity to demonstrate the role that fintech plays in real estate management, an announcement from the company said. The platform is built for individual landlords, property managers and real estate companies to collect rents from tenants through Ajar’s online platform. The platform allows Ajar’s enterprise users to track rental collection of each property, link properties or portfolios…

The National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has partnered with Bahrain Fintech Bay to launch a Digital Banking Challenge, according to a statement. The challenge is aimed at bolstering the digital capabilities of Bahraini youth, and enabling them to explore emerging tech trends. The Digital Banking Challenge is specifically looking for Bahraini youth to develop innovative solutions for NBB’s new digital banking app. The challenge starts with an “intensive” bootcamp and selection process, where applicants will get to know NBB’s digital outlook better through technical and strategic sessions with NBB business teams. This will be followed by a six-week Digital Incubation…

Payments fintech dopay has secured a banking agent licence from Bank ABC Egypt for a virtual banking platform, a statement from the company said. The collaboration will allow dopay to offer its B2B payment and banking platform for SMEs and corporates in Egypt. The platform will allow businesses to open instant accounts for employees, contractors and beneficiaries, and make payments in real time. Each account comes with a debit card, and payments are processed on weekends and holidays. dopay’s cloud payroll service lets employers remit salaries electronically to unbanked staff through a dopay account. Founded in 2014, dopay is an…

Airome Technologies, a Singapore-based developer of cybersecurity solutions for digital banking and e-document management systems, was announced as a representative vendor by Gartner. The Vendor Identification for User Authentication 2021 report contains a comprehensive list of user authentication vendors who meant to provide security and risk management leaders responsible for IAM. According to the Gartner’s market guide for user authentication, “As remote work increases access management tool adoption, and security controls shift to identity, the ability to secure access with AM strategies aligned with continuous adaptive risk and trust assessment is paramount. Cost optimization for IT spending (e.g., AM) will…

Dubai-based personal finance and investment platform Sarwa has gathered US$15 million in a Series B round of funding, the company announced in a statement. Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investment firm Mubadala Investment Company led the round. Participating investors included 500 Startups, KIPCO, Shorooq Partners, MEVP, DIFC, Hambro Perks Oryx Fund, HALA Venture and Vision Ventures. Mubadala and 500 Startups will also be assigned their representatives to Sarwa’s board. Funding will be used to expand its market presence and team, and launch new products, the company said. Sarwa currently has over 40,000 registered users from across the MENA region, and is a…

Israeli venture investing platform OurCrowd has signed an MoU with the Azerbaijan Investment Company (AIC) to bolster strategic investments by the Government of Azerbaijan in OurCrowd’s portfolio. The agreement is the first of its kind since Azerbaijan opened its Trade and Tourism Offices in Israel. It makes OurCrowd the first Israeli business to collaborate with the Azerbaijani government since the offices were set up, a statement said. OurCrowd is an equity crowdfunding platform providing access to startup and venture fund investments in Israel. The company currently has 118,000 global investors, including funds, multinational companies, and private investors. Under the agreement,…