UAE-based Avenues World to raise $25 million from pre-IPO funding, eyes major UAE expansion

Avenues World FZ LLC is a subsidiary of Vavian International Ltd. The company has appointed SAFA Capital as the bankers for Avenues World FZ-LLC fundraising and the term sheet for this pre-IPO round was signed with a select group of investors. The transaction is slated for completion within the next 45 days.

UAE-based Vavian International Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of India-based listed AI-powered fintech company, Infibeam Avenues Ltd.

“Fundraising for the UAE market will enhance our technical and operational capabilities, increase market share, add new products & services to local merchants and thus bring more transaction volume on our payment platform,” said Arun Jeevaraj, Vice President of CCAvenue.ae's business and operations in UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The company sees the pre-IPO fundraising, valued at $100 million post-investment value for Avenues World FZ LLC as just the start of an exciting journey. The India-based parent company Infibeam Avenues Ltd has a presence across the MENA region including Saudi Arabia, the US, and Australia, coupled with an outstanding track record in digital payments over more than a decade, strong teams, and promising growth prospects, poised for further success. The Company is committed to replicating the digital payments scale-up and performance achieved in UAE across each of its international regions in the future.

Internationally, the parent company - Infibeam Avenues Ltd through its UAE-based wholly-owned subsidiary Vavian International Ltd has 100% ownership of its digital payments subsidiaries across multiple regions. Out of these international payments subsidiaries, currently, Avenues World FZ LLC processing digital payments in the UAE market has been planned to be listed on stock exchanges in UAE, to leverage the strategically positioned subsidiary in this market. The company plans to come up with the IPO within the next 8-14 months.

In the UAE market, Avenues World FZ LLC processes digital payments through its payment brand CCAvenue.ae for more than 5,000 merchants across various industries, including marquee clients like Burj Khalifa, Emaar, Damac, Nakheel, and Trump Golf Dubai, the company said

Over the years, CCAvenue, the company's esteemed payment business, has established itself as a paragon of adherence to high compliance standards, earning widespread acclaim as the gold standard in the payment industry. With a proven track record of regulatory compliance within India, CCAvenue has now set its sights on expanding its reach globally. Recently, the company achieved yet another milestone by securing a coveted PTSP (Payment Technical Service Provider) certificate from SAMA (Saudi Payments), enabling it to serve as a Payment Processor in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This accomplishment not only underscores the Company’s unwavering commitment to regulatory integrity but also signifies its readiness to deliver seamless and secure payment solutions on a global scale.

This move also aligns seamlessly with the parent company's overarching vision to bolster its foothold in markets witnessing a digital payment boom with high take rates (commission) on digital transactions, adding value to its international payment business. The company aims to capitalize on the higher value of transactions in these (MENA region, Australia, and US) markets, resulting in elevated commission earnings per transaction.

The fundraising is part of the parent company’s larger plan where it envisions increasing its international revenue contribution from its current standing at approximately less than 10% to reach up to 30% of its total revenue within the span of the next three years.

Notably, the Company's payment brand - CCAvenue, has solidified its position as the second-largest payment aggregator in the UAE market within the MENA region. With payment processing transactions hitting a monthly run rate of AED 1 billion, the company anticipates continuing its high double-digit growth YoY. The UAE-based Avenues World FZ LLC, clocked revenues of AED 39.5 million in FY23 which is a growth of 88% YoY.

Avenues World FZ LLC has recently introduced a mobile QR Code payment solution via its esteemed payment gateway, CCAvenue.ae, in the UAE market. Furthermore, plans are underway to bolster its presence in the offline payments domain with the imminent launch of CCAvenue TapPay (SoftPoS) in the UAE market.

Furthermore, the parent company has embarked on a proactive growth strategy centred around forging partnerships with leading financial institutions. In past, Infibeam Avenues Ltd’s subsidiaries partnered with Riyad Bank, Bank Muscat and Bank Dhofar. Now further building on its decade-long legacy of fostering strong alliances in the MENA region, the company has recently inked a partnership with SAB, a prominent Saudi Arabian bank. This partnership aims to elevate the company's payment gateway brand, CCAvenue, by scaling its digital fintech product offerings and onboarding a larger cohort of entrepreneurs and merchants in the Saudi market.