Tamara, the fintech platform to shop, pay and bank in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region, has achieved the historic milestone of becoming the Kingdom’s “first” homegrown fintech unicorn by securing $340 million in a Series C equity funding round.
This investment round was “co-led by SNB Capital, the leading regional financial institution, and Sanabil Investments, a wholly owned company by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) with participation from Shorooq Partners, Pinnacle Capital, Impulse and others, joining existing investors such as Coatue, Endeavor Catalyst and Checkout.com.”
It is also among “the largest investments in a fintech company in the region, following on from last month when the Company secured additional debt financing to upsize its warehouse facility to up to $400 million, led by Goldman Sachs and Shorooq Partners. With this transaction, Tamara will have raised a total of $500 million in equity funding, and well above $400M in debt financing since its inception in late 2020.”
Tamara operates in KSA, where it is “headquartered, UAE and Kuwait and has more than 10 million users, over 30,000 partner merchants and reported six times annual run rate revenue growth in less than two years.”
The company was established “in late 2020 and founded by three Saudi co-founders, Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Al Babtain. It was also one of the first companies to be granted a permit to provide BNPL services from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).”
Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Co-founder, and CEO of Tamara said:
“Saudi Arabia deserves its place on the world stage for financial technology. Just as Tamara was created by local entrepreneurs, nurtured by a supportive local ecosystem and market regulators, we stand here today, humbled and hungry, ready for our own leapfrog moment.”
A spokesperson from SNB Capital stated:
“Fintech is one of the core investment sectors in SNB Capital’s strategic portfolio and is aligned with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objective of supporting fintech entrepreneurs at every stage of their development. As a Saudi unicorn Tamara requires significant funding options which SNB Capital is ideally positioned to deliver, and backing the development of the fintech infrastructure which will support further growth.”
Recently, Tamara has taken the decision to “remove late payment fees, highlighting its dedication to offering financial solutions that align with Sharia principles, customer centricity and transparency. Tamara consistently strives to uphold a socially responsible business ethos, and this change is a testament to its ongoing commitment to boosting customer satisfaction, ensuring a seamless, compliant and reliable financial journey for everyone.”
The company’s offering makes it “a commerce enabler to its partners through the surge in high intent shoppers resulting from co-marketing and a flexible, seamless payment journey. Tamara’s partners include regional and global brands such as SHEIN, IKEA, Jarir, Noon, eXtra and Farfetch as well as local small and medium businesses.”