- Tamara has become Saudi Arabia’s first homegrown fintech unicorn after attaining a valuation of over $1 billion. This milestone demonstrates the Kingdom’s leadership in nurturing fintech.
- The Series C funding round raised $340 million from high-profile Saudi investors like SNB Capital and Sanabil Investments, an arm of the PIF sovereign wealth fund.
- Since launching in 2020, Tamara has acquired over 10 million users and 30,000 merchant partners in GCC countries. Its offerings like BNPL are fueling tremendous growth.
Saudi Arabia’s homegrown fintech startup Tamara has reached coveted “unicorn” status after closing a $340 million Series C funding round led by major regional investors. The latest funding propels Tamara’s valuation above $1 billion, making it Saudi Arabia’s first fintech unicorn.
Tamara operates an integrated shopping, payments and banking app serving customers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait. Since its launch in late 2020, Tamara has achieved tremendous growth and now boasts over 10 million registered users.
The Series C round was co-led by leading Gulf financial firm SNB Capital and Sanabil Investments, an investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF). Several other high-profile investors also participated, including Shorooq Partners, Pinnacle Capital and Impulse.
This new $340 million cash infusion comes on the heels of $400 million in debt financing Tamara recently secured, led by Goldman Sachs and Shorooq Partners. In total, the fast-rising fintech has amassed over $500 million in equity funding and $400 million in debt financing.
Fueling Tamara’s stratospheric rise is burgeoning demand for digital financial services and e-commerce across the Gulf region, especially Saudi Arabia. Tamara is among the first fintechs licensed by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to provide Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, an increasingly popular payment option.
Tamara’s BNPL and other offerings provide a major boost to partner merchants through increased customer conversion and transaction volumes. The app has already attracted over 30,000 merchants, including major brands like SHEIN, IKEA, NOON and local SMBs.
“This achievement proves Saudi Arabia deserves its place as a leader in fintech,” said Tamara CEO Abdulmajeed Alsukhan. “As we aim to become the next giant in shopping, payments and banking, we’re grateful for the tremendous backing of our investors, partners and the regulatory environment created by SAMA.”
SNB Capital and Sanabil Investments also expressed optimism regarding their investments in Tamara. “As a Saudi unicorn, Tamara requires significant funding options which SNB Capital is ideally positioned to deliver,” noted SNB Capital. Meanwhile, Sanabil said its “unwavering confidence in Tamara’s remarkable growth trajectory” was behind its continued investments.
As part of its customer-focused mission, Tamara recently removed late fees – a move demonstrating its commitment to fairness, transparency and compliance with Islamic finance principles.
Tamara’s astronomical rise mirrors the rapid digitization of payments and banking underway across the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia in particular presents massive growth potential, with digital payment volumes forecast to reach $170 billion by 2025.
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Last Updated on December 19, 2023 by Safiya K
