Financial platform for consumers and businesses Ziina raised $22 M Series A funding

Leading financial platform for consumers and businesses in the United Arab Emirates, Ziina, today revealed that it has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by US-based Altos Ventures. Avenir Growth, Y Combinator, FJ Labs, MEVP, Jabbar Internet Group, Fintech Collective, and Activant Capital are among the other elite investors taking part in this round. With this substantial funding, Ziina will be able to expand beyond a payment solution and offer end-to-end financial services to both consumers and businesses.

Although there has been a slowdown in global fintech funding, with investments falling from $144.2 billion in 2021 to $40.7 billion in 2023, Ziina’s successful funding round highlights the company’s strong market position and investors’ faith in its future growth. Ziina has seen an increase in SMEs for its 360-degree payment solutions in just the last 12 months, which has resulted in a tenfold increase in annual revenue growth and a 34% month-over-month increase in customer growth. The fact that Ziina recently obtained the Stored Value Facility (SVF) license from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates reinforces these accomplishments and establishes the company’s standing as a reliable financial partner in the area.

In the UAE, Ziina provides services to 560,000 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), an underserved market. More and more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), accounting for more than 94% of all businesses and roughly 60% of the nation’s GDP, are embracing digital payment methods. With approximately 77% of SMEs in the UAE integrating digital payments as of 2023, there is an increasing need for sophisticated financial management tools. According to a recent PwC Middle East survey, despite these advancements, 50% of SMEs in the region still confront major difficulties managing their cash flow and obtaining financing. They can improve their operations and expand their businesses with the help of Ziina’s solutions, which include POS systems and a payment gateway for online checkout.

Ziina’s technological advancements and product innovations will pick up speed thanks to the recent $22 million Series A funding. The goal of Ziina’s investment is to give clients access to a state-of-the-art, safe, and intuitive platform, which is essential to the company’s vision of revolutionizing the Middle Eastern financial services market. Ziina is now concentrating on streamlining outbound payments after seeing companies utilize the platform to successfully collect payments from clients. Letting businesses use the ZiiCard to manage their spending is the first step in this direction. The ZiiCard, which is now under development and scheduled for release soon, aims to revolutionize the way that companies and private consumers handle and access their money by providing instant access to their digital wallet balances.

The ZiiCard will improve expense management and make it easier for businesses to pay suppliers. Individual users’ financial transactions will be much more convenient and secure thanks to new features like expense categorization and split payments.

Faisal Toukan, CEO and Co-Founder of Ziina, emphasised, “Ziina is positioned at the intersection of three key pillars: we see strong customer demand from the underserved SME sector, we’ve obtained the SVF license from the Central Bank of the UAE, and we have secured substantial funding from top-tier investors that we’re excited to be partnering with over the long term.  The intersection of these three pillars means that Ziina is uniquely positioned to lead the next evolution of fintech in the UAE and beyond. This funding will accelerate our journey from a payment platform to an end-to-end financial services provider, enhancing our offerings and expanding our reach across the Middle East.”