Saudi Arabia Accounts for 11 of MENA's 20 Most Valuable Fintechs

Saudi Arabia accounts for 11 of the 20 most valuable fintech companies in the Middle East and North Africa, according to a study by Agrippa and Company. The Paris-based advisory firm's ranking points to the kingdom's growing ability to attract and develop fintech talent.

The eleven companies have a combined valuation of US$13.79 billion. That represents 78.4% of the total value of MENA's top-20 fintechs, the research found.

Tabby and Tamara, two buy-now-pay-later providers, are both on the list. Tabby, founded in the UAE but headquartered in Saudi Arabia, lets consumers split retail, travel and lifestyle purchases into interest-free installments. Tamara does the same.

Rasan is an insurtech holding company with an online insurance aggregator, a B2B insurtech platform and an auction site for salvaged and repossessed vehicles. STC Bank is a fully licensed digital bank that began as stc pay, a mobile wallet from Saudi Telecom Company. Hala offers SMEs and freelancers business accounts, payment terminals and financial services. Geidea sells payment systems, point-of-sale terminals and e-commerce gateways. Foodics provides cloud-based POS and restaurant management software. Lean Technologies builds APIs for account-to-account payments and open banking. Tap Payments, founded in Kuwait and based in Saudi Arabia, runs an online payment gateway. HyperPay processes payments for online and offline businesses. PayTabs handles B2B payment infrastructure, including digital invoicing, QR codes, social media payments, POS systems and switching platforms.

Egypt is second in the ranking with six companies: Fawry, MNT-Halan, Valu, Paymob, Thndr and Money Fellows. The UAE has five entries, and Kuwait has three.

Fintech is the fastest-growing startup category in MENA. Magnitt data shows sector funding reached US$1.14 billion in 2025 through 178 transactions. That amounted to 30% of all startup funding and 26% of deals, more than any other sector.

The momentum continued into 2026. In the first half, fintech accounted for 67% of all startup funding in Saudi Arabia.

Several fintech startups announced fresh funding this month. Naran, a UAE-based mobility fintech, raised US$10 million in equity and debt financing. Founded in 2025, the company offers rent-to-own financing for cars and motorcycles used by ride-hailing and delivery drivers. It operates in Colombia, Peru, Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire, and plans to enter Paraguay in September.

Tax Star, a UAE tax software company, raised US$1.75 million in seed funding. The company describes itself as the UAE's first AI-powered corporate tax compliance product and is a pre-approved Accredited Service Provider for the country's e-invoicing rollout. It plans to expand across the Gulf Cooperation Council and into Europe.

Soor, an insurtech in Bahrain, received an undisclosed pre-seed investment. Soor runs a platform that lets users compare and buy policies from multiple insurers. Founded in 2024, the company is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain and wants to make pricing and coverage more transparent. It is also exploring expansion into other regional markets.