Spendwisor Inc. has entered into an agreement with Gem Global Yield LLC SCS (GEM) in order to boost the existing facility size from QAR 190 million (appr. $50 million) to QAR 310 million (appr. $85 million).
As mentioned in the update, this serves as a testament to the substantial progress Spendwisor has made since the original agreement was made in July of last year.
Spendwisor, a mobile payments and customer-focused marketing platform, is reportedy helping Qatar with developing the Fintech industry by bringing in FDI ($85 million from the US), creating new job opportunities for the domestic and international workforce, and supporting the local small businesses by bringing them into the larger/formal financial ecosystem.
Safarudheen Farook, co-founder and CEO, stated:
“The new round of funding will help us streamline the process of committing resources strategically to accomplish our objective to be a global brand. The companies that can transform business processes with new technology and provide a differentiated experience across the globe will be the industry leaders. We aim to be leaders in the MENA region with our investors’ continuous and timely support.”
Syed J. Javaid, Deputy CEO and COO, remarked:
“Our discussions with the local and regional FinTech communities have given us a strong reason to expedite our growth strategy, and we are now actively exploring our options to enter several regional markets, mostly through local partnerships. We believe the problems we are trying to address through Spendwisor are country agnostic and need a solution that can work across different sectors and markets. GEM’s recent decision to increase our financing limit gives us the ability to execute our plans efficiently.”
Spendwisor says that it plans to use this facility to tap further into the actual potential of the fast-growing payments sector in the MENA region (valued at over $2 trillion).
Spendwisor is a QFC-registered Fintech. Incubated in DIC and supported by MOTC with their head offices in the US, Spendwisor is a mobile payment and loyalty firm operating in Qatar.
Supported by a professional team of technology experts, the firm provides a unique experience to clients and retailers.
Spendwisor’s anchor investor, GEM Global Yield LLC SCS, is a $3.4 billion Luxembourg-headquartered private alternative investment group. GEM maintains business offices in Paris, New York, and the Bahamas.
GEM reportedly manages a wide range of investment options that are mainly focused on emerging markets and has finalized more than 500 deals in 72 different countries. The family of funds and investment vehicles offers GEM and its partner’s with exposure to Small-Mid Cap Management Buyouts, Private Investments in Public Equities, and select venture investments.
This transaction was advised by Licorne Gulf, a specialized advisory company primarily focusing on capital raising based out of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, London, and Geneva.