Meet Tamara, Saudi Arabia's First Fintech Unicorn

<p>Tamara, a
leading Saudi fintech and payments startup backed by Goldman Sachs, has raised
$340 million in a new funding round led by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and
the country's largest bank. This propels Tamara to a valuation of over $1
billion, granting it coveted "unicorn" status.</p><p>Saudi Fintech Unicorn Tamara Eyes IPO after $340 Million Funding Round</p><p>The funding
round comes amidst a slowdown in Middle East venture capital deals this year.
However, Tamara was able to attract prominent Saudi backers looking to grow the
country's nascent fintech sector.</p><p>Tamara
provides "buy now, pay later" (<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/bnpl-demand-unlikely-to-weaken-in-2024/" target="_blank" rel="follow">BNPL</a>) services and partners with over
30,000 merchants. It intends to use the fresh capital to expand its product
portfolio beyond BNPL, into areas like digital banking and <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/p/payments/">payments</a>.</p><p>"There's
huge demand for companies like Tamara to IPO," the Co-Founder and CEO,
Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, said during an interview with Bloomberg, hinting at a
potential public listing within a few years.</p><blockquote><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We have our first <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fintech?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Fintech</a> Saudi Unicorn startup! <a href="https://twitter.com/useTamara?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@useTamara</a>, the pioneering fintech platform has reached a valuation of $1 billion in their Series C funding. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Congratulations?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Congratulations</a> to the visionary founders and the entire <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tamara?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Tamara</a> team for this historic achievement.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Saudiunicorns?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Saudiunicorns</a> <a href="https://t.co/8oCMlnS98r">pic.twitter.com/8oCMlnS98r</a></p>— Saudi Unicorns الشركات المليارية (@saudiunicorns) <a href="https://twitter.com/saudiunicorns/status/1736673964221427890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2023</a></blockquote><p>Alsukhan's
comment reflects a growing appetite for IPOs amongst Middle East tech startups.
Saudi firms like e-commerce unicorn Tabby and flower delivery service Floward
are also gearing up to go public as they scale up operations.</p><p>Investors Are Choosing
Emerging Market IPOs</p><p>Tamara's
unicorn milestone and IPO ambitions demonstrate the rapid growth of <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/terms/f/fintech/">fintech</a> in
Saudi Arabia. With strong government backing, the country aims to nurture
homegrown champions that can compete globally while <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/saudi-arabias-card-payments-to-grow-by-14-in-2023/" target="_blank" rel="follow">transforming financial
services</a>.</p><p>In the last
ten years, there has been a surge exceeding 30% in both the quantity and proceeds
<a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/why-investors-are-ditching-unicorns-for-emerging-market-ipos/" target="_blank" rel="follow">of IPOs in emerging markets</a>, largely driven by their quicker economic expansion
relative to developed countries. The recent EY Global IPO Trends report
reveals that in 2023, these markets represented 77% of worldwide IPOs by number
and 75% by value. Although IPO activities in Middle Eastern markets, notably in
Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have declined, they are still high compared to other countries.</p><p>Unwrapping the Hidden Cost
of BNPL Holidays</p><p>The
significance of the BNPL sector was particularly highlighted during the recent
Thanksgiving holidays, and the upcoming Christmas season is likely to demonstrate
its popularity further. On Cyber Monday, as Adobe Analytics reported,
BNPL <a href="https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/payments/shop-now-stress-later-unwrapping-the-hidden-cost-of-bnpl-holidays/" target="_blank" rel="follow">transactions surged 43% compared to the previous year</a>. This method
enabled larger purchases, but the increase in delayed payments is raising
alarms about potential financial burdens for consumers, especially when payment
deadlines approach.</p><p>The
dependence on BNPL services could lead to financial difficulties as bills
become payable, possibly resulting in debt accumulation that could be hard to
manage. Research from the New York Federal Reserve points to a troubling trend:
a significant portion of BNPL users are in a precarious financial state. The research
indicates that the BNPL user base is broad, yet it disproportionately consists
of individuals with lower credit scores and higher unmet credit needs.</p>

This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.