Sequoia, STV Lead $54 Million Funding for Gulf Fintech Tabby

(Bloomberg) -- Sequoia Capital India and Saudi venture capital firm STV led a $54 million funding round for Tabby, the Middle East’s largest buy-now, pay-later provider, as demand fintech solutions booms.

Existing investors Mubadala Investment Capital, Arbor Ventures, and Global Founders Capital also participated in the Series B capital raise, according to a statement. The firm has so far raised $180 million in debt and equity.

“We want to expand into markets where we see direct overlap either from a consumer or a merchant perspective,” Chief Executive Officer Hosam Arab said in an interview. The firm, which currently operates in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, is also looking to expand its team to develop additional products and features, he said.

Tabby is among companies that are flourishing in the fintech sector as the pandemic accelerated the shift toward online retail and digital payments. Buy-now, pay-later services allow customers to purchase goods and then pay for them in installments or after a certain period of time free of interest.

The entire industry in the Middle East is “extremely under-penetrated and there is still significant room for expansion and opportunities for growth just within our core product of buy-now, pay-later,” Arab said.

Tabby competes in the Middle East with firms such as Saudi Arabia-based Tamara, which raised $110 million last year in one of the region’s largest startup investments to date.

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