Pyypl provides digital payments, remittances and a range of other financial services for 800 million smartphone users in the Middle East and Africa. Photo: Pyypl
Pyypl provides digital payments, remittances and a range of other financial services for 800 million smartphone users in the Middle East and Africa. Photo: Pyypl
Pyypl provides digital payments, remittances and a range of other financial services for 800 million smartphone users in the Middle East and Africa. Photo: Pyypl
Pyypl provides digital payments, remittances and a range of other financial services for 800 million smartphone users in the Middle East and Africa. Photo: Pyypl

UAE's Pyypl raises $20m to expand financial inclusion in Middle East and Africa


Deepthi Nair
  • English
  • Arabic

UAE-based FinTech Pyypl has raised $20 million in a series B funding round and will use the proceeds to expand its financial inclusion plans in the Middle East and Africa.

A diverse group of international investors and 10 existing investors participated in the funding round, Pyypl said on Monday, without disclosing the details of the investors.

“We welcome our new investors and appreciate the further investment from our existing shareholders in support of our financial inclusion journey,” co-founder and chief executive Antti Arponen said.

“We have grown significantly since our series A round and are excited to enter the next phase of growth and capability. This is just the beginning.”

Pyypl (pronounced people) is a blockchain-based platform licensed by the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority.

It provides digital payments, remittances and a range of other financial services to 800 million smartphone users in the Middle East and Africa region who do not have bank accounts or credit or debit cards.

The digital revolution since the onset of Covid-19 has spurred financial inclusion around the world and led to more people having access to a bank account for the first time, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex 2021 report.

However, about 22 per cent of the GCC’s population is unbanked, compared with 60 per cent in North Africa, according to a report by consultancy Strategy&.

Seventy-nine per cent of young adults in the Mena region are unbanked and 72 per cent of the poorest citizens can benefit from financial inclusion, according to the Arab Monetary Fund.

It is this demographic that Mr Arponen aims to tap into with Pyypl, which he started working on in 2017 with co-founder Phil Reynolds.

In February, Pyypl raised $11m in a series A financing round to fund its expansion in core GCC markets and Africa, particularly in Kenya and Mozambique.

Since inception in 2017, Pyypl has raised about $40m from investors in Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East, including UAE-based venture capital company Global Ventures, the platform said.

The FinTech, which is based in Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem Hub71, is considering opening a second tranche for further investment due to interest from investors, it said.

Pyypl will also use the proceeds for product development to enhance user experience and support growth in current and new markets.

The FinTech has grown more than four times in terms of user numbers, transaction volumes and revenue since its series A round earlier this year, the company said.

Last October, the company teamed up with US blockchain technology company Ripple to introduce an on-demand liquidity (ODL) solution for cross-border transfers between the Middle East and the Philippines.

Pyypl co-founder Antti Arponen set up the blockchain-based app to help the underbanked population in the Middle East and Africa region. Photo: Pyypl
Pyypl co-founder Antti Arponen set up the blockchain-based app to help the underbanked population in the Middle East and Africa region. Photo: Pyypl

The ODL solution enables RippleNet, a network of banks and money services businesses that employ solutions developed by Ripple, to use the XRP digital currency as a bridge between two fiat currencies, allowing them to transfer funds economically and instantly across jurisdictions, the two companies said at the time.

Pyypl also offers its own cross-border remittance service to about 60 countries.

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

UAE SQUAD

Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri

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Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Rain Management

Year started: 2017

Based: Bahrain

Employees: 100-120

Amount raised: $2.5m from BitMex Ventures and Blockwater. Another $6m raised from MEVP, Coinbase, Vision Ventures, CMT, Jimco and DIFC Fintech Fund

Sustainable Development Goals

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere

2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages

4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation

10. Reduce inequality  within and among countries

11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects

14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels

17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDavid%20Lowery%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alexander%20Molony%2C%20Ever%20Anderson%2C%20Joshua%20Pickering%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

BMW M5 specs

Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor

Power: 727hp

Torque: 1,000Nm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km

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Price: From Dh650,000

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Friday: Giggs, Sho Madjozi and Masego  

Saturday: Nas, Lion Bbae, Roxanne Shante and DaniLeigh  

Sole DXB runs from December 6 to 8 at Dubai Design District. Weekend pass is Dh295 while a one day pass is Dh195. Tickets are available from www.soledxb.com

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

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Sugary teas and iced coffees

The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.

For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.

Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.

UAE%20set%20for%20Scotland%20series
%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20will%20host%20Scotland%20for%20a%20three-match%20T20I%20series%20at%20the%20Dubai%20International%20Stadium%20next%20month.%3Cbr%3EThe%20two%20sides%20will%20start%20their%20Cricket%20World%20Cup%20League%202%20campaigns%20with%20a%20tri-series%20also%20involving%20Canada%2C%20starting%20on%20January%2029.%3Cbr%3EThat%20series%20will%20be%20followed%20by%20a%20bilateral%20T20%20series%20on%20March%2011%2C%2013%20and%2014.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

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Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

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Countries recognising Palestine

France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra

 

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

The Year Earth Changed

Directed by:Tom Beard

Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough

Stars: 4

Updated: May 30, 2023, 11:31 AM