Top 14 Most Well-Funded Fintech Startups in MENA
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Forbes Middle East has released its annual ranking of the Top 50 Most-Funded Startups in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. Out of these 50 companies, 14 are fintech firms, making the sector the most represented one across all tech sectors. Combined, these 14 fintech companies had raised a total of US$611.1 million, as of December 2021.
Looking at the geographic repartition, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the most represented country with seven fintech companies. The UAE is followed by Saudi Arabia with three companies, Egypt with two companies, and Bahrain and Tunisia, each with one company.
At the top of the ranking, MENA buy now, pay later (BNPL) startups took the first positions, propelled by the large rounds of funding they closed in 2021. Other subsets are represented as well including payments, cryptocurrency, wealthtech and open banking.
PayTabs (Saudi Arabia) – ~US$35 million
PayTabs is a startup that offers a one-stop shop for startups, e-commerce ventures, and online businesses to accept and manage payments. The company processes transactions in multiple currencies, safely and securely. Using a tool known as API plugins, PayTabs facilitates integration for merchants across industries to ‘plug and play’ features on to their websites.
PayTabs’ total funding amount is undisclosed but based on the Forbes ranking, the sum could be anywhere between US$34.2 million and US$40 million.
