News

4Partners Secures $3.6M To Expand Dropshipping Into UAE

The company offers businesses an automated, fully integrated dropshipping platform with mobile-focused eCommerce tools.

Published

2 years ago

October 10, 2024

Nour Nasir

4Partners

4Partners, a Dubai-based global dropshipping platform, has successfully raised $3.6 million in funding to facilitate entry into its home market of the UAE and accelerate growth across the region. The company plans to use the investment to provide local businesses with a fully integrated platform and logistics support, allowing them to quickly launch online stores with minimal hassle.

The 4Partners platform is designed to tackle common obstacles faced by eCommerce entrepreneurs, offering access to millions of popular products without the need for bulk purchases. Additionally, 4Partners automates the logistics process, requiring no direct involvement from the seller, and provides a cloud-based IT system that eliminates the need for technical skills or ongoing maintenance.

4Partners operates warehouses in multiple locations, including the UAE, USA, Germany, Turkey, and China, offering over 7 million authentic branded products sourced from 753 suppliers around the globe. By allowing sellers to offer a wide array of products without the burden of managing stock, the company enables seamless cross-border shipping, making it possible for businesses to reach customers worldwide.

Also Read: Top E-Commerce Websites In The Middle East In 2024

Aleksandr Betra, the Chief Marketing Officer of 4Partners, shared, “We are thrilled to introduce our platform in the UAE and offer businesses an all-in-one e-commerce solution that helps them succeed in today’s competitive market. By simplifying logistics and inventory management, we enable our partners to concentrate on sales and brand growth”.

The eCommerce market in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is projected to grow to $50 billion by 2025, with dropshipping expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.9% from 2024 to 2030. This growth is being driven by rising consumer demand for a variety of readily available products. With its user-friendly tools, 4Partners aims to empower small and mid-sized businesses by offering a content management system (CMS) for online stores, automated logistics, and millions of product options.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.