Dubai: This is already turning out to be a good year for UAE and Gulf based tech startups.
Tarabut Gateway, the fintech specialisng in 'open banking' services, has secured $13 million in new funds – "making it the largest fintech seed round in MENA history". Tarabut Gateway, with offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai as well as in London and Manama, will expand both its team geographic reach with the support of the new cash in hand. The plan is to hire 40 additional team members by the end of this year.
The new investments were led by Target Global, a Berlin-based venture capital firm, as well as Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.
It was in October that Tarabut made its entry into the UAE. According to CEO Abdulla Almoayed, “The open banking industry is a catalyst for transforming the way banks and fintechs in the region interact with one another. With regional regulators quickly adopting it in their strategies, Tarabut Gateway provides the infrastructure which enables enhanced collaborations between financial institutions and an increasingly agile and flourishing regional FinTech sector."
- The Saudi Central Bank has issued a directive to implement a Kingdom-wide policy on Open Banking, in line with the objectives of its Financial Sector Development Program.
- Bahrain was the first country in the region to outline an Open Banking Policy and Framework, with Tarabut Gateway being the first from the Central Bank of Bahrain’s regulatory sandbox.
