Paymob Secures $35M Pre-Series C to Scale MEA Payments Infrastructure and AI Solutions

Paymob has secured $35 million in a pre-Series C funding round to accelerate its expansion across the MENA region. For fintech professionals, this capital injection underscores the rapid consolidation of the Middle Eastern payments landscape, as the company transitions from a local player into a dominant regional infrastructure provider targeting high-growth GCC markets.

What was announced

The $35 million round was co-led by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investor, Mubadala Investment Company, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Participation also came from British International Investment (BII), Global Ventures, and DPI Ventures. The capital is earmarked for scaling Paymob’s core digital payments acceptance business and launching new products specifically designed for SME merchants, with a particular focus on catering to agentic commerce.

This funding follows a period of significant operational momentum. Over the last 18 months, Paymob’s consolidated revenues have tripled across its four active markets. Growth in the GCC has been particularly aggressive, with revenues increasing sevenfold; the GCC now accounts for nearly half of the company’s total revenue. Since obtaining its Retail Payment Services Licence from the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) in January 2025, the firm has onboarded approximately 20,000 merchants across its three GCC markets.

The platform addresses the fragmentation of the MENA financial ecosystem, where merchants often struggle with disparate Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) providers, local card networks, and bank instalment plans. Paymob’s solution provides a single technology layer—one API, one contract, and one dashboard—that grants access to over 60 payment methods. This omnichannel approach allows businesses of all sizes to accept online and offline payments and manage finances through a unified interface.

"Paymob morphed into a regional platform over the past 18 months, propelled by the exponential growth of our GCC business. This Pre-Series C funding round will help us accelerate our growth plan across the MENA region and fast-track our product roadmap to become the go-to payments platform for agentic commerce. We are very excited about Mubadala joining our cap table and grateful for the continued support of our existing shareholders."

Islam Shawky, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Paymob.

The companies involved

Paymob is a leading payments infrastructure service provider in the MENA region, operating as an omnichannel financial technology platform. It serves as a critical bridge for SMEs, allowing them to navigate a complex regulatory and technical environment through a single integration. The company has established itself as a major player in the regional fintech scene, particularly after securing key licensing in the UAE.

Mubadala Investment Company is an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor that manages a diverse portfolio of assets. Through its MENA Venture Capital Fund, it focuses on backing innovative businesses that strengthen the UAE’s digital economy and regional fintech status. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a multilateral developmental investment bank that has become a frequent backer of high-growth fintech champions in emerging markets. Other investors in this round include Global Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on MEA-based startups, and British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution. Together, these backers provide a mix of sovereign wealth, developmental capital, and private venture expertise to support Paymob’s regional scaling.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely tracked Paymob’s expansion and the broader investment activity of its backers. Earlier this month, we reported that Fortis and Paymob Partner to Transform UAE Payment Terminals into All-in-One POS Solutions, a move that significantly enhanced the company’s offline presence in the Emirates. We also covered the EBRD’s broader regional strategy, including when QNB Egypt and EBRD Launch SME Champions Program to Accelerate Export Growth in August 2026. Additionally, the regional fintech ecosystem has seen high-value activity recently, such as when Moove Secures $250M Series C at $2.1B Valuation to Scale Autonomous Mobility Infrastructure, signaling a robust appetite for large-scale infrastructure investments across the Middle East.

What this means

This announcement signals a shift in the MENA fintech sector from market entry to infrastructure dominance. By securing backing from a sovereign giant like Mubadala alongside the EBRD, Paymob is positioning itself as the "operating system" for regional trade. The focus on "agentic commerce" suggests the industry is moving beyond simple transaction processing toward automated, AI-driven financial flows. This puts immense pressure on traditional regional banks and smaller, single-market payment gateways that cannot offer the same cross-border simplicity. The central question for the sector is now whether a single platform can truly unify the regulatory nuances of the entire MENA region.