New Delhi, Sept. 19 -- HALA, Saudi Arabia's leading fintech startup, propelled funding activity in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region this week, securing one of the region's largest Series B funding rounds. The company secured nine-figure growth funding from prominent investors in the region, including sovereign funds.

Oman-based enterprise SaaS provider Rihal followed, marking the first close of its eight-figure fundraise.

Additionally, a slew of Saudi startups secured early-stage funding across seed and pre- Series A stages. These include Bynow, Bwatech, MoneyMoon, Spare, LDUN, Sindbad Tech, Oumla, and Wadaie.

Meanwhile, BNPL Tamara, Saudi Arabia's first homegrown fintech unicorn, secured an asset-backed facility of up to $2.4 billion from Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Apollo. The transaction fully refinances and upsizes a prior $500 million asset-backed facility arranged by Goldman Sachs.

HALA

HALA, which provides embedded financial services to micro, small and medium enterprises, raised $157 million in a Series B investment round to expand lending and support regional expansion.

The round was led by TPG's The Rise Fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF)-owned Sanabil Investments, with participation from QED, Raed Ventures, Impact 46, Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), Isometry Capital, Arzan VC, BNVT Capital, Kaltaire Investments, Endeavor Catalyst, Nour Nouf Ventures, Khwarizmi Ventures, and Wamda Capital.

Founded in 2018 by Esam Alnahdi and Maher Loubieh, HALA offers SME banking and freelancer solutions, enabling businesses to start, operate, and grow seamlessly.

Bynow

Saudi B2B fintech Bynow raised $1.2 million from Merak Capital to accelerate product development and regional expansion.

Founded in 2022 by Rami Suliman and Ahmed Banafa, Bynow offers buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) solutions for businesses, giving companies more flexibility in managing payments and improving cash flows, particularly SMEs.

The company is also developing broader products for automating accounts receivable and payable, aiming to simplify intercompany payment processes that are often handled manually.

Rihal

Oman-based enterprise SaaS provider Rihal secured $7.5 million in the first close of its $15 million Series A round to fuel regional and international expansion. The funding was led by the ITHCA Group.

Founded in 2021 by Azzan Al-Kindi, Asim Al-Shabibi and Waleed Al Harthi, Rihal offers an enterprise SaaS platform specializing in data, software, and AI support diverse client base across key sectors, including government, logistics, telecom, and oil and gas.

Besides scaling its proprietary data and AI platforms, Rihal plans to use the funding to accelerate expansion.

Bwatech

Bwatech, a Saudi fintech company specializing in corporate financial solutions, raised $16 million in a funding round led by Sharaka Financial to accelerate growth.

Founded in 2020 by Rasha Al-Oraini and Hashem Al Hekail, Bwatech is an integrated fintech platform offering digital bank guarantees, account management, and open banking services, accessible via web, mobile, and API integrations.

It aims to utilize the fresh capital to scale operations and expand its presence in the Saudi market.

MoneyMoon

Saudi Arabia-based fintech MoneyMoon secured $2.9 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Core Vision to scale its peer-to-peer lending platform. The round also saw participation from family offices and angel investors.

Founded in 2023 by Abdulmajeed Alaskar, the startup offers short-term financing solutions with instant approvals and flexible investment opportunities.

It aims to use the funding to enhance its technology and expand operations.

Spare

Saudi fintech Spare raised $5 million in a pre-Series A round, led by the venture capital arm of Arab National Bank, to expand regionally. Other participants in the round included 500 MENA, Vision Ventures, SEEDRA Ventures, MEVP, and Boubyan Ventures.

Founded in 2018 by Dalal Alrayes and Saurabh Shah, Spare is an open banking platform that allows businesses to access their customers' financial data to create new products.

It aims to use the funds to expand the team and operations, and step up marketing efforts.

In 2023, Spare had raised a $3 million funding round from Vision Ventures, Wa'ed Ventures, SEEDRA Ventures, global investment firm 500 Global, and several angel investors.

Fintologya

Bahrain-based fintech infrastructure startup Fintologya raised $1 million in a seed round led by a Gulf holding company to scale the business.

Founded in 2024 by Mohsen Badrani and Omar Dahhane, the company provides scalable platforms in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain that enable banks and fintechs to launch next-generation financial products.

It will use the funding to strengthen compliance frameworks, and accelerate innovation in the region's digital payment ecosystems.

Sindbad Tech

Sindbad Tech, a Saudi Arabian fintech, has raised $4.8 million in seed funding led by Alkhabeer Capital to expand the business.

Founded in 2013 by Abdulaziz Alsultan, Mohammed Agbawi and Ziad Aqbawi, the company has evolved from a research project to a fintech company focused on developing cutting-edge investment solutions.

The funds will be used to expand product offerings, and develop advanced technologies to enhance transaction efficiency.

Qashio

Iliad Partners-backed UAE fintech Qashio secured strategic investment from Saudi Arabia's Alinma Bank, months after it raised $19.8 million in a mix of equity and non-equity funding to prepare for its entry into Saudi Arabia.

During the earlier funding round, concluded in May this year, Qashio had raised capital from its existing investor Rocketship VC, MoreThan Capital, regional banks, and family offices.

The startup had also raised a $10 million seed round in 2022.

Founded in 2021 by Armin Moradi, Qashio's fintech platform offers a comprehensive spend management solution for corporates. It enables businesses to gain full visibility and control of their expenses. The firm already has operations and clients in 22 countries, including the UAE, Europe, and the UK.

It claims to have reached profitability in the first quarter of 2025 at over $1.2 million. Qashio aims to use the additional funds to expand into Saudi Arabia and deepen its market-leading B2B loyalty programme across MENA.

LDUN

Saudi Arabia-based fintech LDUN raised a $4.8 million seed round led by Sadu Capital to grow its business. The round also saw participation from Suhail Ventures and Nomu Angel Investment.

Founded in 2021 by Firas Alhamdan and Faisal Bin Dukhail, LDUN provides a tech-enabled platform that facilitates trade credit between suppliers and retailers with an aim to improve purchasing power for business owners and enhance suppliers' cash flows.

Oumla

Saudi Arabia-based fintech Oumla raised $2.4 million in a seed round led by Core Vision, with participation from Avalanche and angel investors.

Founded in 2022 by Mohammed Aljasser and Salah AlSalman, the company provides digital asset custody and management solutions, blockchain connectivity, and tokenization platforms for financial and real estate assets.

Oumla plans to deploy the funding towards expanding the team and building partnerships with regulators, banks, and government bodies across Saudi Arabia and the region.

Wadaie

Wadaie, a Saudi Arabia-based fintech, raised a seed round led by VentureSouq to expand to new markets. Other participants in the round included Graphene Ventures, RZM Investments, Arab National Bank, and Alinma Bank.

Founded in 2022 by Abdullah Alandas, Rayan Altuwayjiri, and Abdulrahman Alhawas, Wadaie offers a platform that connects depositors with all banks in Saudi Arabia, enabling them to earn returns on Shariah-compliant time deposits without the need to open new accounts in other banks.

The funding will be used for product expansion and deepening of partnerships with Saudi banks to reach new markets and customer segments.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.