Tamara, the leading fintech platform to shop, pay and bank in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region, has achieved the historic milestone of becoming the Kingdom’s first homegrown fintech unicorn by securing $340 million in a Series C equity funding round.
This round was co-led by SNB Capital, the leading regional financial institution, and Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned company by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) with participation from Shorooq Partners, Pinnacle Capital, Impulse and others, joining existing investors such as Coatue, Endeavor Catalyst and Checkout.com. It is also among the largest investments in a fintech company in the region, following last month when the company secured additional debt financing to upsize its warehouse facility to up to $400 million, led by Goldman Sachs and Shorooq Partners. With this transaction, Tamara will have raised a total of $500 million in equity funding and well above $400M in debt financing since its inception in late 2020.
Headquartered in Riyadh, Tamara operates in KSA, UAE and Kuwait with more than 10 million users, over 30,000 partner merchants and reported six times annual run rate revenue growth in less than two years. The Company was established in late 2020 and founded by three Saudi co-founders, Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Al Babtain. It was also one of the first companies to be granted a Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) permit to provide BNPL services.
Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Co-founder, and CEO of Tamara said: “Saudi Arabia deserves its place on the world stage for financial technology. Just as Tamara was created by local entrepreneurs, nurtured by a supportive local ecosystem and market regulators, we stand here today, humbled and hungry, ready for our own leapfrog moment. This achievement is a testament to the ecosystem, to our incredible team, investors, and the collaborative spirit that makes this region a great place for talent to flourish. As we set our sights on becoming the next big giant in shopping, payments and banking we remain ever grateful for the significant opportunity in this underpenetrated and underserved banking and financial services landscape. Furthermore, The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) has been instrumental in creating an enabling environment for Saudi companies like Tamara to grow and innovate in the Saudi fintech sector.”
A spokesperson from SNB Capital stated, “Leading on the Series C raise for Tamara through SNB Capital’s Close-Ended Fintech Fund aligns with one of our objectives to invest in single target companies achieving long-term capital appreciation. Fintech is one of the core investment sectors in SNB Capital’s strategic portfolio and is aligned with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objective of supporting fintech entrepreneurs at every stage of their development. As a Saudi unicorn Tamara requires significant funding options which SNB Capital is ideally positioned to deliver, and backing the development of the fintech infrastructure which will support further growth.”
A spokesperson from Sanabil Investments added, “Our continued backing and investment in Tamara underscores our unwavering confidence in Tamara’s remarkable growth trajectory. At Sanabil, one of our missions is to empower visionary ideas, turning them into impactful realities. We constantly seek innovations that address pressing market demands while ensuring scalability and sustainability. In Tamara, we have discovered a team with the potential to revolutionize financial services, not only within Saudi Arabia but on a regional scale.”
Recently, Tamara has taken the decision to remove late payment fees, highlighting its dedication to offering financial solutions that align with Sharia principles, customer centricity and transparency. Tamara consistently strives to uphold a socially responsible business ethos, and this change is a testament to its ongoing commitment to boosting customer satisfaction, ensuring a seamless, compliant and reliable financial journey for everyone.
