Topic: financial inclusion

  • Pintarnya Secures $16.7M to Boost Indonesian Jobs and Financial Access

    Pintarnya Secures $16.7M to Boost Indonesian Jobs and Financial Access

    Pintarnya, an Indonesian platform for job seekers and financial solutions, raised $16.7 million in Series A funding led by Square Peg with support from existing investors. The platform uses AI-powered job matching and offers secured loans through asset-backed lenders, targeting Indonesia's large ...

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  • Egypt's MNT-Halan Targets GCC's Underserved Market with Expansion

    Egypt's MNT-Halan Targets GCC's Underserved Market with Expansion

    MNT-Halan is expanding in GCC nations, targeting underserved consumers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia to increase access to digital financial services. The company has grown rapidly, gaining 1.5 million users and offering loans, salary advances, and auto loans through strategic partnerships. Leverag...

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  • Iraq's Digital Finance Leap Earns World Bank Praise

    Iraq's Digital Finance Leap Earns World Bank Praise

    Iraq has received World Bank praise for rapidly expanding electronic payment systems and financial inclusion initiatives, demonstrating commitment to modernizing its banking sector. Electronic transactions exceeded $1.52 billion in August 2024, with 20 million payment cards in circulation reachin...

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  • SNB, Tarabut & Geidea Launch New SME Lending Platform

    SNB, Tarabut & Geidea Launch New SME Lending Platform

    A new POS financing platform for SMEs in Saudi Arabia is being launched by a partnership between Saudi National Bank, Tarabut, and Geidea, pending central bank approval. This initiative supports Saudi Vision 2030 by providing faster, integrated access to working capital for SMEs through Geidea's ...

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  • Paysky Unveils Revolutionary Fintech Solutions at MTN Summit 2025

    Paysky Unveils Revolutionary Fintech Solutions at MTN Summit 2025

    The MTN Fintech Summit 2025 in Johannesburg highlighted Paysky's advanced digital payment solutions and its strategic partnership with MTN Group to expand financial services across Africa. Paysky and MTN are collaborating to scale the MoMo platform, aiming to connect merchants and consumers acros...

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  • WOLIZ to Digitally Equip 90,000 Moroccan Merchants in New Deal

    WOLIZ to Digitally Equip 90,000 Moroccan Merchants in New Deal

    A partnership between WOLIZ and Morocco's Ministry of Industry and Trade will digitally empower 90,000 merchants, providing 20,000 nanostores with connected terminals and access to a digital platform to modernize retail. The initiative aims to strengthen small shopkeepers by offering digital tool...

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  • Valu & MobileMasr Launch Egypt's First P2P BNPL for Used Phones

    Valu & MobileMasr Launch Egypt's First P2P BNPL for Used Phones

    Valu and MobileMasr have launched Egypt's first peer-to-peer Buy-Now, Pay-Later service for used smartphones, combining flexible payment options with device verification. The service ensures security through identity checks, GPS validation, secure payments, and electronic contracts, with sellers ...

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  • Vodafone Oman & Software Group Boost Digital Financial Services

    Vodafone Oman & Software Group Boost Digital Financial Services

    Vodafone Oman partners with Software Group to develop next-generation digital financial services, aiming to accelerate Oman's digital economy and enhance financial inclusion. The collaboration utilizes Software Group's DigiWave Digital Banking Platform and digital channels to provide tailored fin...

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  • Sarmad Launches Thamar to Simplify Saudi Investor Services

    Sarmad Launches Thamar to Simplify Saudi Investor Services

    Sarmad has launched thamar, a digital platform designed to modernize investor services for asset management firms in Saudi Arabia, aligning with Vision 2030 to enhance financial digitization. The platform streamlines operations by connecting asset managers with distributors, digitizing workflows,...

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  • Morocco to Digitize 50,000 Retail Stores with Z.systems

    Morocco to Digitize 50,000 Retail Stores with Z.systems

    The Moroccan government is partnering with Z.systems to digitally modernize 50,000 local shops, enhancing their competitiveness as part of the national strategy leading up to the 2030 World Cup. Shopkeepers will receive digital tools that streamline operations, connect them with major distributor...

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  • Alipay+ Expands to Saudi Arabia, Enabling QR Payments for Merchants

    Alipay+ Expands to Saudi Arabia, Enabling QR Payments for Merchants

    The Saudi Central Bank and Ant International are partnering to introduce cross-border QR payments by 2026, enhancing financial inclusion and supporting Saudi Vision 2030. This integration will allow Saudi merchants to accept payments from over 1.7 billion users across 36 digital wallets, boosting...

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  • ABHI & TRAY Unite to Empower Saudi Arabia's Hospitality Workforce

    ABHI & TRAY Unite to Empower Saudi Arabia's Hospitality Workforce

    A new partnership between ABHI and TRAY introduces Earned Wage Access (EWA) to Saudi Arabia's food and beverage industry, allowing employees early access to earned wages and reducing reliance on high-interest loans. This collaboration supports Saudi Vision 2030 by enhancing financial inclusion an...

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  • Ooredoo Fintech & PayPal Boost Global Digital Payments

    Ooredoo Fintech & PayPal Boost Global Digital Payments

    Ooredoo Fintech and PayPal have partnered to integrate Ooredoo Wallet with PayPal World, creating a unified global payments network for the MENA region. This collaboration enables users to connect with nearly two billion consumers worldwide, facilitating international money transfers and access t...

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  • Saudi's UmrahCash Enters Indonesia via Sharia Partnerships

    Saudi's UmrahCash Enters Indonesia via Sharia Partnerships

    UmrahCash has launched in Indonesia with strategic partnerships to enhance the sharia fintech ecosystem for pilgrims, aiming to support millions undertaking hajj and umrah annually. The company provides secure, transparent, and sharia-compliant financial services, including direct access to Saudi...

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  • Algeria Inks $300M Deal to Supply 2M Payment Terminals to Nigeria

    Algeria Inks $300M Deal to Supply 2M Payment Terminals to Nigeria

    Algeria has signed a $300 million deal to supply Nigeria with two million electronic payment terminals, enhancing regional economic and technological cooperation. The terminals will be manufactured in Algeria by Inatel in partnership with Morefun Electronic Technology, showcasing Algeria's growin...

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  • Ex-Microsoft & Uber Founder Raises $3M for Neobank Munify, Backed by YC

    Ex-Microsoft & Uber Founder Raises $3M for Neobank Munify, Backed by YC

    Munify is a neobank founded by Khalid Ashmawy to address the slow and costly process of sending remittances to Egypt, inspired by his personal frustrations with high fees and delays. The company has secured $3 million in seed funding and joined Y Combinator's Summer 2025 cohort, offering instant,...

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  • WE-Elevate Unites DCO and Members to Boost Women in Digital Business

    WE-Elevate Unites DCO and Members to Boost Women in Digital Business

    The Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) is fully expanding its WE-Elevate program to all Member States to empower women entrepreneurs by providing tools for thriving online. The program, successfully piloted in Rwanda, offers digital capacity-building through online learning, mentoring, and e-...

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  • STC Bank Launches Smart Saver & Finance Tools for Customers

    STC Bank Launches Smart Saver & Finance Tools for Customers

    STC Bank has launched two Shariah-compliant digital tools, Smart Saver and Smart Finance, to simplify saving and provide flexible financing while adhering to Islamic banking principles. Smart Saver helps customers build savings automatically through round-ups and recurring transfers, offering com...

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  • Tarabut Opens New Regional Headquarters in Riyadh

    Tarabut Opens New Regional Headquarters in Riyadh

    Tarabut has launched its new regional headquarters in Riyadh, reinforcing its commitment to Saudi Arabia's open banking framework and Vision 2030 economic goals. The inauguration involved key Saudi banks and partners, showcasing Tarabut's integration and collaborative role within the Kingdom's fi...

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  • Egypt's Mobile Wallet Transactions Soar 80% to Record EGP 943 Billion in Q2 2025

    Egypt's Mobile Wallet Transactions Soar 80% to Record EGP 943 Billion in Q2 2025

    Egypt's mobile wallet sector saw significant growth, with transaction volume rising 80% year-on-year to 718 million and value increasing 72% to EGP 943 billion in Q2 2025. Vodafone Cash led the market with 55% of all wallets and dominated transaction volume and value, while peer-to-peer transfers...

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  • EMURGO and Pravica Partner to Bring Cardano Stablecoins to Sui Blockchain

    EMURGO and Pravica Partner to Bring Cardano Stablecoins to Sui Blockchain

    EMURGO Labs and Pravica are partnering to bring Cardano's native stablecoins to the Sui blockchain, enhancing cross-chain interoperability and expanding their use in global financial services. The collaboration will utilize Pravica's S3.Money platform to integrate these stablecoins into worldwide...

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  • Pakistani Fintechs Chase Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 Opportunity

    Pakistani Fintechs Chase Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 Opportunity

    Pakistan's fintech sector is expanding into Saudi Arabia, supported by Vision 2030 and stronger bilateral ties, with the goal of establishing Pakistan as a key regional IT hub. The Money 20/20 event in Riyadh acted as a launchpad for Pakistani firms, enabling business deals, investment attraction...

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