UAE BNPL Tabby Raises $54M in Series B Funding Round

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) startup for Saudi Arabia and the UAE Tabby raised $54 million in a Series B funding round led by Sequoia Capital India and Saudi venture capital firm STV, according to multiple media reports. 

The firm has so far raised $180 million in debt and equity funding. The fresh capital will be used for expansion of the startup’s suite of products and to grow across several new verticals. The company’s Series B in July raised $50 million in debt financing at a $300 million valuation, according to a company press release at the time.

“We want to expand into markets where we see direct overlap either from a consumer or a merchant perspective,” CEO Hosam Arab told Bloomberg. 

Arab added that the sector in the Middle East is “extremely under-penetrated and there is still significant room for expansion and opportunities for growth just within our core product of buy-now, pay-later.”

See also: Tabby Remains Independent Amid Increasing Consolidation in MENA BNPL Space

Founded in 2019 in Dubai, UAE, Tabby enables retailers to offer their customers interest-free installments both online and in-store. Customers have the option to defer paying for purchases for up to 30 days or to pay four equal monthly installments at zero cost. The Tabby app is downloaded 3,000 times every day and has over 4000,000 active users. 

Tabby also has a cashback loyalty program that rewards users who shop using the Tabby app. The cashback funds can be used to pay off installments or deposited into their bank accounts.

“While BNPL is still in its relative infancy in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), the sector has witnessed one of the fastest rates of consumer adoption globally, with 24% of consumers in the region reporting having used the option in 2021,” Tabby said in a statement. “This fundraising clearly illustrates the growth prospects for the payment method in the region.”

Read more: Middle East’s BNPL Firm Tabby Teams With New York’s Splitit

Mark Venema, senior vice president of strategy at Delivery Hero, an investor in the July Series B, said in the press release that the investment in tabby is Delivery Hero’s first FinTech investment in MENA, which supports the company’s belief in the “power of entrepreneurship.” MENA is also a “strategically important region for Delivery Hero.” 

Delivery Hero owns and operates a number of regional food and grocery delivery companies in the region, including Talabat, InstaShop and Hunger Station.