Dubai – Sharikat Mubasher: Ziina, the UAE’s leading financial platform supporting consumers and businesses, has raised $22 million in a Series A funding round led by US-based Altos Ventures, according to a press release.

The fundraising transaction also included the participation of Fintech Collective, Avenir Growth, Activant Capital, Y Combinator, FJ Labs, MEVP, and Jabbar Internet Group.

This funding will fuel Ziina’s expansion beyond a payment solution to providing end-to-end financial services for businesses and consumers across the Middle East. It will also accelerate the platform’s technological advancements and product innovations.

Ziina serves a market of 560,000 SMEs in the UAE, which make up over 94% of all companies and contribute about 60% of the country’s GDP.

Faisal Toukan, CEO and Co-Founder of Ziina, commented: "Ziina is positioned at the intersection of three key pillars: we see strong customer demand from the underserved SME sector, we have obtained the SVF license from the Central Bank of the UAE, and we have secured substantial funding from top-tier investors that we’re excited to be partnering with over the long term. This funding will accelerate our journey from a payment platform to an end-to-end financial services provider, enhancing our offerings and expanding our reach across the Middle East.”

Dillon Krasnigor, Partner at Altos Ventures, said: "We believe Ziina will become a significant financial services provider in the Middle East. We commend The Central Bank of the UAE for embracing innovation within the fintech space by granting Ziina the SVF license.”