Saudi Arabia's buy now, pay later platform Tamara reached a valuation of $1 billion in its latest equity funding round after raising $340 million.
The series C round was jointly led by SNB Capital, a unit of the kingdom’s largest bank, and Public Investment Fund-owned Sanabil Investments, the Saudi home-grown FinTech start-up said on Monday.
Other participants included Shorooq Partners, Pinnacle Capital and Impulse, who joined existing investors such as Coatue, Endeavor Catalyst and Checkout.com.
Tamara plans to use the money it raised to fund new products and services, going beyond BNPL to take advantage of opportunities in shopping, payments and banking services in Saudi Arabia and across the GCC, it said.
Start-ups that reach a valuation of $1 billion are called unicorns and Tamara said reaching this milestone was a "significant opportunity" in a financial services market that is "underpenetrated and underserved".
Tamara intends to become "the next big giant in shopping, payments and banking", said Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, co-founder and chief executive of Tamara.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are the three biggest markets for venture capital in the Mena region, having attracted $4.48 billion, $1.94 billion and $1.46 billion, respectively, from 2018 to 2022, start-up data platform Magnitt said in November.
In the first nine months of the year, invested capital across the five most-funded venture markets in the Mena region dropped by 43 per cent, Magnitt said in a report in October.
Saudi Arabia attracted $536 million in investment, which was 41 per cent less than the same nine-month period last year, the report showed.
Tamara is considering a listing in Saudi Arabia in the future, with the possibility of a second listing in other markets, its chief executive told The National in August.
Tamara's latest equity funding round round comes after a debt-raising move last month led by Goldman Sachs and Shorooq Partners.
The company operates in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. It has more than 10 million users and more than 30,000 partner merchants.
Established in late 2020, it was started by three Saudi co-founders – Mr Alsukhan, Turki bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Al Babtain – after receiving a Saudi Central Bank permit to provide BNPL services.
Mubadala-backed BNPL platform Tabby also achieved unicorn status after it raised $200 million in a series D funding round, it said in November.
With a valuation of more than $1.5 billion, Tabby joined the UAE's Careem, Kitopi, Swvl and Emerging Markets Property Group, Saudi Arabia's STC Pay and Egypt's Fawry on the list of regional unicorns.
OPTA'S PREDICTED TABLE
1. Liverpool 101 points
2. Manchester City 80
3. Leicester 67
4. Chelsea 63
5. Manchester United 61
6. Tottenham 58
7. Wolves 56
8. Arsenal 56
9. Sheffield United 55
10. Everton 50
11. Burnley 49
12. Crystal Palace 49
13. Newcastle 46
14. Southampton 44
15. West Ham 39
16. Brighton 37
17. Watford 36
18. Bournemouth 36
19. Aston Villa 32
20. Norwich City 29
Dubai World Cup prize money
Group 1 (Purebred Arabian) 2000m Dubai Kahayla Classic - $750,000
Group 2 1,600m(Dirt) Godolphin Mile - $750,000
Group 2 3,200m (Turf) Dubai Gold Cup – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Turf) Al Quoz Sprint – $1,000,000
Group 2 1,900m(Dirt) UAE Derby – $750,000
Group 1 1,200m (Dirt) Dubai Golden Shaheen – $1,500,000
Group 1 1,800m (Turf) Dubai Turf – $4,000,000
Group 1 2,410m (Turf) Dubai Sheema Classic – $5,000,000
Group 1 2,000m (Dirt) Dubai World Cup– $12,000,000
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Bangladesh tour of Pakistan
January 24 – First T20, Lahore
January 25 – Second T20, Lahore
January 27 – Third T20, Lahore
February 7-11 – First Test, Rawalpindi
April 3 – One-off ODI, Karachi
April 5-9 – Second Test, Karachi
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
