Mastercard has launched a program designed to help small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region navigate the trade disruptions, rising energy and logistics costs, and other strains caused by the current regional conflict. Dubbed “Built Small. Moving Strong.,”...
The Middle East has, in recent years, stood out among the more productive settings for payments innovation, where digital adoption and infrastructure development have advanced in tandem and given rise to a new generation of FinTech platforms. That foundation remains intact, but what’s changing in...
The Middle East is proving itself as fertile ground for FinTech investment and innovation. The region combines high smartphone penetration, young demographics and state-backed modernization of payment rails. Governments across the Gulf have treated digital channels and faster money movement as economic infrastructure. As a...
Artificial intelligence (AI) firm 1001 AI has raised $9 million in seed funding. That funding, announced Monday (Oct. 20), will allow the company to further its mission of developing AI infrastructure for critical industries such as aviation and oil and gas in the Middle East...
April 06, 2026
The Middle East has, in recent years, stood out among the more productive settings for payments innovation, where digital adoption and infrastructure development have advanced in tandem and given rise to a new generation of FinTech platforms. That foundation remains intact, but what’s changing in the midst if the war raging across the region is […]
June 12, 2023
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is quickly becoming a hotbed for open banking, driven by a unique ecosystem, booming consumer demand and “forward-thinking” regulators, said Abdulla Almoayed,...
May 04, 2023
Total investment raised by startups in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) and broader Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area crossed the $3 billion mark in 2022 as investors...
February 16, 2023
The imbalance between payments issuance and acceptance is a major pain point in emerging markets. According to Islam Shawky, co-founder and CEO at Cairo-based digital payments service provider Paymob, that...
May 14, 2026
Saudi Arabia-based Stitch raised $25 million in a Series A funding round to grow its operating system for modern financial institutions. The company will use the new funding to accelerate product development, deepen its presence across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and broader Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, and expand its global go-to-market […]
May 08, 2026
Mastercard has launched a program designed to help small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region navigate the trade disruptions, rising energy and logistics...
October 20, 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) firm 1001 AI has raised $9 million in seed funding. That funding, announced Monday (Oct. 20), will allow the company to further its mission of developing AI...
September 17, 2025
Mastercard and payment gateway provider HyperPay have partnered to issue commercial cards in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The commercial cards will be launched in Saudi Arabia...
