Archive
12 Fintech Startup Founders in the Middle East That Are Making Waves
There’s a lot of buzz doing the rounds for fintech startups in the Middle East, but not too much is known about the faces behind these companies – fintech startup founders. Founders and founding teams are often the make-or-break of
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Crypto Platform CoinMENA Picks Up US$9.5m Seed Funding
Bahrain-headquartered crypto trading platform CoinMENA has fetched US$9.5 million in seed funding, according to a statement. This is the first seed round to have been raised by the company. It is also one of the largest seed rounds to have
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Sarwa Launches Zero Commission and Transfer Fee Trading Platform
Personal finance and investment platform Sarwa has officially launched Sarwa Trade. The platform allows users to trade stocks and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) without commissions, international transfer fees or a minimum account balance, according to a statement. The solution provides
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Jumo Secures US$120m to Scale Its BaaS Platform
South Africa-headquartered AI-based banking-as-a-service platform Jumo announced in a statement that it has raised US$120 million from new and existing backers. The round was led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, an investment advisory firm owned by the Johnson family,
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Pakistan’s Udhaar Book Secures US$6m for Digital Book-Keeping App
Pakistan-based MSME-focused cash flow management platform Udhaar Book has raised US$6 million in seed funding to digitise credit in retail shops in Pakistan. The funding was raised from Fatima Gobi Ventures, Muir Capital (by Plaid co-founder William Hockey and other
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The 5 Fastest Growing Fintech Companies in the UAE in 2021
Fintech companies in the UAE have bagged a number of wins this year, with local fintechs accelerating growth. Competition is heating up in the digital banking space, as well as in several sub-verticals of the payments space. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency is
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Fintech Digest: Will Mobile Money Shake Up Nigeria’s Banking Industry?
MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa had a substantial win in Nigeria last week, after the two mobile money players won conditional approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria to offer mobile banking services. MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa still have
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ClearTax Rebrands, Raises US$75m for Middle East Expansion
India-based fintech SaaS company ClearTax has raised US$75 million in a Series C round, according to a statement from the company. The round was raised for the company’s expansion to the Middle East, the statement said. It will also enable
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Oman Jumps on Open Banking Bandwagon
The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) is drafting the so-called Open Banking API Strategy as part of a broader push to stimulate innovation in the finance sector. The intentions were outlined in the 2021 Arab Region Fintech Guide, a paper
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Financial Data Concerns Rise Amongst Digital Shift in the GCC
Illegal data collection and financial data theft have become major concerns amongst GCC consumers, according to a new report. The Ding Global Prepaid Index (GPI), a bi-annual global study by mobile top-up service Ding, found that GCC consumers are uneasy
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