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Mubadala-Backed Tabby Raises $200 Million In Funds

The latest series D funding round gives the BNPL platform a value of $1.5 billion.

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mubadala-backed tabby raises $200 million in funds
Tabby

Backed by UAE investment company Mubadala, Dubai-based Buy Now Pay Later platform Tabby has raised $200 million in funding, making it part of an elite group of MENA companies known as “unicorns” due to their market value of $1 billion or more.

Tabby, now valued at a staggering $1.5 billion, joins fellow UAE startups like Careem, Kitopi, and Swvl, along with Saudi Arabia’s STC Pay and Egypt’s Fawry.

US-based Wellington Management was in charge of the latest funding round, with Hong Kong’s Blue Pool Capital and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Capital also taking part, with additional investment also coming from Saudi Arabia’s STV, PayPal Ventures and Arbor Ventures.

Tabby manages more than $6 billion worth of yearly transactions, and the new funding will be used to further develop the company’s financial and shopping services for both consumers and retailers.

“With this investment, we can advance our mission across Saudi Arabia and the UAE,” said Hosam Arab, CEO and co-founder of Tabby.

Also Read: MENA Online Electronics Sales Grew By 7% In 2023

The BNPL business model, which allows shoppers to spread payments for online purchases over several interest-free installments, has boomed since the COVID-19 pandemic and is projected to hit $565.8 billion by 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate of nearly 26%.

Tabby is currently active in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE. In a January 2023 funding round, the company had already raised $58 million, valuing the BNPL provider at $660 million.

Meanwhile, plenty more BNPL providers are jostling for a share of the enormous MENA market, including the likes of Postpay, Cashew, Spotii, and Tamara. Only time will tell if Tabby’s rivals are also able to achieve coveted unicorn status, though the MENA region is expected to produce at least 45 billion-dollar startups by the end of the decade, led by Saudi Arabia.

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LUVED Is A New Curated Preloved Marketplace For The UAE

Sellers keep 100 percent of every sale and AI can build a listing in five seconds — though the app’s smartest tools are still coming.

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luved is a new curated preloved marketplace for the uae

Secondhand shopping has become mainstream in the UAE, but the experience is still scattered across resale sites, social media and informal group chats. LUVED, a mobile-first marketplace that launched in Dubai this month, is betting it can pull that activity into one place — and that the thing buyers and sellers actually want is not more inventory, but trust.

The app trades in what it calls circular luxury: preloved fashion and lifestyle pieces across men’s, women’s and children’s categories, bought, sold or given away peer to peer. Its main pitch is economics, with sellers keeping 100 percent of every sale under a zero-commission, fast payout model, while buyers are promised vetted pieces at lower prices.

Where LUVED is staking its reputation is verification. Sellers pass a KYC check, and items run through a two-layer authentication system powered by Entrupy that pairs instant AI screening with human expert review for high-value pieces. Authenticity certificates travel with each item, payments sit in escrow, and a buyer-protection package the company calls The Safety Net adds a 48-hour return window and dispute resolution. Door-to-door logistics removes the in-person meetups that make most resale deals awkward.

An in-app assistant called Luvbot — offering selling insights and demand-based recommendations — is soon to be introduced to the platform. Other features include autofill and dynamic pricing that lets users build a listing in as little as five seconds from three photos, plus a swipe-based feed, story-style drops and in-app chat in English and Arabic. Finally, a gifting layer, Luved & Gifted, lets users pass items to others inside the app rather than sell them.

Also Read: Logitech’s New Folding Mouse Is Designed For Work On The Go

“After moving to Dubai, I saw how difficult it was to sell or even give things away,” says founder and CEO Shaima Sibtain. The friction is real, and so is the competition. In resale, trust is won transaction by transaction — and that is the test LUVED has set itself.

The app is live on the App Store now, with Google Play to follow. The company also plans to expand across the region, which will be the real test for a marketplace staking everything on trust.

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