News

UAE Fintech Qashio Raises $19.8M For Regional Expansion

The Dubai-based fintech will use the cash injection to expand its B2B spend management platform and loyalty program across the MENA and Europe.

Published

1 year ago

May 28, 2025

Nour Nasir

uae fintech qashio raises $19.8 million for regional expansion

Dubai-headquartered fintech Qashio has raised $19.8 million in its latest funding round, paving the way for continued geographic expansion and growth of its industry-leading B2B loyalty ecosystem. Already operating in 22 countries — including the UAE, Europe, and the UK — the company will use the new capital to support its imminent entry into Saudi Arabia and strengthen regulatory compliance.

The funding, comprising equity and non-equity sources, was led by existing Silicon Valley-based investor Rocketship. Qashio’s consistent growth, demonstrated by over 800% year-on-year revenue increases for three consecutive years, reflects the platform’s rising dominance in B2B expense management solutions.

In addition to Rocketship, several existing investors including ABN Ventures, MITAA, and Oneway VC reaffirmed their support. The round also welcomed strategic new backers, such as Luxembourg-based MoreThan Capital, prominent regional banks, and several family offices from across the region.

“We invested in Qashio because of their bold vision to modernize spend management in the Middle East, a region ripe for financial innovation,” said Sailesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Partner at Rocketship. “They’re not just solving a pain point, but transforming how companies operate and scale”.

Unlike traditional corporate cash back programs, Qashio’s loyalty network uniquely features premium partners like Emirates, Air France, KLM, Avios (British Airways, Iberia, Finnair), US Airways, and elite hotel groups including Jumeirah One, Accor, and IHG Intercontinental Hotel Group. These high-value rewards differentiate Qashio from competitors, enhancing its appeal to businesses that previously had limited access to such exclusive benefits.

Also Read: Dubai’s PRYPCO Mint Is MENA’s First Tokenized Real Estate Project

“At Qashio, we understand change often meets resistance, especially when shifting from manual processes,” said Armin Moradi, CEO and Co-founder. “Our loyalty program is designed to reward positive financial management behaviors with meaningful incentives like air miles and hotel points — rewards that are typically hard to obtain. Coupled with transparent pricing, lowest cross-border fees, and unmatched cashbacks without restrictive conditions, we empower businesses to embrace streamlined financial management”.

With profitability achieved — earning over $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2025 — Qashio’s fresh capital infusion positions the fintech leader to further accelerate its ambitious growth across MENA and into European markets.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.