DUBAI: UAE-based payment app Ziina has raised $7.5 million in new funding and plans to use the investment to finance its expansion into Saudi Arabia.
The latest seed funding was led by Avenir Growth Capital and Class 5 Global and included Wamda Capital, FJ Labs, Graph Ventures, Goodwater Capital, Jabbar Internet Group, and Oman Technology Fund’s Jasoor Ventures.
The rollcall of investors also included Zinal Growth, the investment fund of Checkout.com CEO Guillaume Pousaz, BukuKas CEO Krishnan Menon, Pawp CEO Marc Atiyeh, and executives from PayPal and Venmo.
Ziina describes itself as a peer-to-peer (P2P) payment app, allowing users to send and receive payments with just a phone number. The company was founded last year by Faisal and Sarah Toukan, and Andrew Gold and was planning to use the new funding to expand its operations into Saudi Arabia and Jordan by 2022.
Faisal Toukan, CEO and co-founder of Ziina, said: “We are thrilled to have onboarded our latest group of partners and are grateful for the continued support from our existing investors.
“This round will fuel our expansion plans into Saudi Arabia and support the launch of our highly anticipated wallet feature, which we will be introducing along with our new banking partner shortly.”
UAE-based payment provider to use new funding to expand into KSA
https://arab.news/2aje4
UAE-based payment provider to use new funding to expand into KSA
- Payment app allows users to send and receive payments with just a phone number
The Family Office to host global investment summit in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: The Family Office, one of the Gulf’s leading wealth management firms, will host its exclusive investment summit, “Investing Is a Sea,” from Jan. 29 to 31 on Shura Island along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
The event comes as part of the Kingdom’s broader Vision 2030 initiative, reflecting efforts to position Saudi Arabia as a global hub for investment dialogue and strategic economic development.
The summit is designed to offer participants an immersive environment for exploring global investment trends and assessing emerging opportunities and challenges in a rapidly changing financial landscape.
Discussions will cover key themes including shifts in the global economy, the role of private markets in portfolio management, long-term investment strategies, and the transformative impact of artificial intelligence and advanced technologies on investment decision-making and risk management, according to a press release issued on Sunday.
Abdulmohsin Al-Omran, founder and CEO of The Family Office, will deliver the opening remarks, with keynote addresses from Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Prince Turki Al-Faisal, chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
The press release said the event reflects the firm’s commitment to institutional discipline, selective investment strategies, and long-term planning that anticipates economic cycles.
The summit will bring together prominent international and regional figures, including former UK Treasury Commercial Secretary Lord Jim O’Neill, Mohamed El-Erian, chairman of Gramercy Fund Management, Abdulrahman Al-Rashed, chairman of the editorial board at Al Arabiya, Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade Dr. Amer Bisat, economist Nouriel Roubini of NYU Stern School of Business, Naim Yazbeck, president of Microsoft Middle East and Africa, John Pagano, CEO of Red Sea Global, Dr. Anne-Marie Imafidon, MBE, co-founder of Stemettes, SRMG CEO Jomana R. Alrashed and other leaders in finance, technology, and investment.
With offices in Bahrain, Dubai, Riyadh, and Kuwait, and through its Zurich-based sister company Petiole Asset Management AG with a presence in New York and Hong Kong, The Family Office has established a reputation for combining institutional rigor with innovative, long-term investment strategies.
The “Investing Is a Sea” summit underscores Saudi Arabia’s growing role as a global center for financial dialogue and strategic investment, reinforcing the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objective of fostering economic diversification and sustainable development.
