UAE-based consumer FinTech Sav has raised $3.5 million in Pre-Series A funding, led by Abu Dhabi-based Phoenix Venture Partners (PVP), as the startup prepares to enter Saudi Arabia and expand its AI-powered money management platform across the GCC.

The round also included co-investors from the investor base of Phoenix Venture Partners Innovation Fund. It brings Sav’s total funding to approximately $6 million, following around $2.5 million raised through previous rounds.

Founded in 2022 by Purvi Munot and Mithil Ajmera, Sav is developing a unified personal finance platform designed to bring different parts of a consumer’s financial life into one ecosystem. The company combines savings, investments, gold, payments and commerce while using its proprietary AI infrastructure, SavCore, to automate and support financial decisions.

Sav operates in the UAE under a DFSA Category 4 licence and plans to use the new capital primarily for its Saudi market entry, alongside product development, AI infrastructure and customer acquisition across the GCC.

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Sav Wants to Become an AI Layer for Personal Finance

Sav’s proposition goes beyond providing another payments or savings application. The company is attempting to aggregate consumers’ financial accounts and products while using AI to provide a more complete view of their finances and automate aspects of money management.

That approach targets a particular challenge in the Gulf, where internationally mobile consumers can have bank accounts, investments, credit histories and other financial relationships spread across multiple institutions and countries.

Munot, Sav’s co-founder and CEO, said the existing financial system often fails to see that complete picture, particularly for a generation building wealth across borders.

“We are building the platform that does: one that understands a person’s entire financial life and acts on it,” she said.

SavCore sits at the centre of that strategy. Rather than treating AI as a standalone consumer feature, Sav is positioning the technology as infrastructure underlying how the platform understands users and helps them manage savings, investments, credit and other financial decisions.

The company said its revenue is already diversified across interchange income, wealth management fees, commerce commissions and subscriptions.

Phoenix Venture Partners Bets on FinTech Beyond Payments

For Phoenix Venture Partners, the investment reflects a broader thesis about where the next phase of GCC FinTech growth could emerge.

The Abu Dhabi-based investor argues that much of the region’s core payments infrastructure has already been established, creating an opportunity for startups to build higher-value financial products on top of those rails.

“The next chapter of GCC fintech won’t be defined by payments,” said Steve Khayat, Founder and CEO of Phoenix Venture Partners. He pointed instead to lending, insurance, wealth management and embedded finance as areas that could increasingly define the sector.

That thesis also informs PVP’s view of Sav as a platform focused on wealth creation rather than primarily enabling spending.

Faris Al-Obaid, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Phoenix Venture Partners, contrasted the opportunity with the rise of Buy Now, Pay Later, arguing that AI-led money management could represent another major consumer FinTech category.

While BNPL expanded access to financing for consumption, Sav is attempting to use technology to help consumers manage and accumulate wealth across a broader range of financial products.

Saudi Arabia Becomes Sav’s Next Major Market

A significant portion of the new capital will support Sav’s go-to-market expansion into Saudi Arabia, making the Kingdom the startup’s next major growth market.

Saudi Arabia has become an increasingly important destination for GCC FinTech companies as digital financial services expand and startups target the region’s largest economy. For Sav, entering the market would also test whether its UAE-developed consumer finance model can scale across multiple Gulf jurisdictions.

The company plans to invest simultaneously in user acquisition, product development and its underlying AI capabilities rather than treating Saudi expansion as a standalone geographic launch.

That strategy could be important to Sav’s broader regional proposition. A platform designed around consumers whose financial lives cross borders becomes more valuable as its own geographic footprint expands, although operating across markets also introduces different regulatory, banking and financial infrastructure requirements.

$6M in Funding Backs Sav’s GCC Expansion

With the latest round, Sav has now raised approximately $6 million since its launch.

The Pre-Series A provides the company with additional capital to move from its existing UAE base toward a broader GCC footprint while continuing to develop the technology underpinning its financial platform.

Its progress will depend on whether Sav can translate the breadth of its proposition — spanning savings, investments, payments, commerce and AI-powered financial management — into sustained consumer engagement as it scales.

For Phoenix Venture Partners, the bet is that the next major opportunity in Gulf FinTech lies not simply in moving money, but in building intelligent consumer financial products on top of the payment infrastructure created over the past decade.

Sav is positioning itself squarely around that shift, with Saudi Arabia now set to become the biggest test yet of its ambition to build a regional AI-powered personal finance ecosystem.

Kuwait-based education technology startup Dawraty has successfully secured investment from Qatar Development Bank as part of a USD 2 million seed round. Scheduled to close by the end of November 2026, this round is aimed at bolstering Dawraty’s expansive efforts within healthcare education, professional certification, and exam preparation across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

The significance of Dawraty’s fundraising lies in its strategic blend of cross-border Gulf capital and expansion. With Qatar Development Bank as an institutional backer, Dawraty is strategically positioning itself to establish a commercial foothold in Qatar.

This deal represents a broader opportunity within the MENA education technology sector, showcasing the potential for building robust learning infrastructures that effectively cater to both Arabic and English-speaking audiences.

Strategic Growth in Healthcare and Professional Education

Dawraty’s emphasis on medical and professional education places it within a high-demand sector, circumventing traditional educational confines.

The growing need for continuous training, certification, and exam preparation among healthcare institutions and professional bodies creates sustained demand for Dawraty’s digital platform.

By partnering with institutions rather than selling directly to individual learners, Dawraty collaborates with universities, medical colleges, professional academies, and government bodies to deliver accredited education in both languages.

Founded by Dr. Ryan Dougherty and Hamad AlThunayan, the company utilizes a master partnership and reseller agreement model to penetrate new markets.

Such a strategy allows institutions to implement Dawraty’s platform efficiently, as demonstrated by its recent contractual revenue secured through a master partnership and its reseller agreement with the Qatar Finance and Business Academy (QFBA) in September 2026.

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The company already operates in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Jordan, and counts significant partners like Kuwait University, University of Bahrain, Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance, and Johns Hopkins for continuing medical education.

A Platform for Cross-Border Expansion

Dawraty’s USD 2 million seed round values the company at USD 10 million, marking its growing influence across GCC markets. The investment from Qatar Development Bank comes after meticulous evaluation as part of its 2026 Accelerator Program, marking a pivotal role for development institutions in the region.

This financial backing underscores the larger trend of education and training providers expanding across borders and necessitating platforms that accommodate diverse linguistic needs.

Positioned as a leading player in the Digital Cooperation Organization ecosystem, Dawraty sets an example for leveraging institutional partnerships to achieve market entry and growth.

With the seed round open until November 2026, the company is poised to attract additional co-investors to further enhance its innovative bilingual platform aimed at healthcare and professional education sectors.

As the education landscape continues to evolve, Dawraty’s focus remains on converting existing partnerships into robust revenue streams while driving expansion into new markets.

Saudi fintech PayTabs Group has agreed to acquire Amazon Payment Services’ Middle East and North Africa payments operations in a transaction valued at more than $100 million, according to people familiar with the agreement cited by CNN Economics.

The transaction, which the sources said has been approved by both parties, would significantly expand PayTabs’ footprint across the region and bring Amazon’s regional payments business into the Saudi-born company’s infrastructure.

Following the integration, the combined operation is expected to process more than SAR 150 billion ($40 billion) in transactions annually, giving PayTabs considerably greater scale in a MENA payments market that remains fragmented across countries, banking systems and regulatory frameworks.

The acquisition would also represent a significant consolidation move in the region’s fintech sector, bringing together payment processing, automated transaction switching and payouts within PayTabs’ broader infrastructure.

PayTabs Makes a Major Consolidation Move in MENA Payments

PayTabs has spent years building payment infrastructure across the region, including banking connectivity, regulatory licences and technology designed to help merchants accept and manage digital payments.

Acquiring Amazon Payment Services’ regional operations would substantially accelerate that strategy.

Rather than expanding solely through organic growth and individual market entries, PayTabs would absorb an established payments operation with existing merchant relationships and infrastructure across the Middle East and North Africa.

People familiar with the transaction said the deal is valued at more than $100 million, although an exact purchase price and detailed transaction structure have not been disclosed.

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The combined platform is expected to provide end-to-end payment infrastructure spanning transaction processing, automated switching and payouts, potentially allowing businesses to manage more of their payment operations through a single provider.

For PayTabs, the strategic value therefore extends beyond simply adding transaction volume. The acquisition could strengthen its ability to serve merchants operating across multiple MENA markets, where payment methods, banking connections and regulatory requirements can differ considerably from one country to another.

Combined Business Expected to Process More Than SAR 150B Annually

Scale is one of the most significant elements of the transaction.

The combined operation is expected to process more than SAR 150 billion annually, equivalent to roughly $40 billion, if the acquisition is completed under the current agreement.

That transaction volume would give PayTabs a substantially larger position in the regional payments infrastructure market and could create efficiencies across processing, merchant onboarding, compliance and banking connectivity.

Continuity is expected to be a priority during the integration process, with the companies seeking to minimise disruption to existing operations.

The combined infrastructure is also expected to support faster merchant onboarding and stronger local regulatory compliance, an increasingly important capability as governments and central banks across the region develop more sophisticated frameworks for digital payments and fintech companies.

Integrating the businesses will nevertheless be a critical part of the transaction. Payments infrastructure is deeply connected to merchants, banks and financial institutions, making operational continuity particularly important during any transfer of ownership.

From Payment Frustration to Regional Infrastructure: How Abdulaziz Al Jouf Built PayTabs Into a MENA Fintech Leader

From Saudi Startup to Regional Payments Infrastructure Player

The deal would mark an important step in PayTabs’ evolution from a Saudi-founded fintech into a larger regional payments infrastructure company.

The company has built its business around connecting merchants with payment networks and financial institutions while expanding its regulatory presence across different markets. It has also invested in AI-driven payment technologies and infrastructure capable of managing multiple stages of the transaction process.

The Amazon Payment Services acquisition would bring those investments into a considerably larger operation.

It also comes as payment providers across MENA increasingly compete on infrastructure depth rather than simply providing online checkout services. Merchants operating regionally need payment companies capable of handling local banking relationships, different payment methods, settlement, payouts and country-specific compliance requirements.

Owning more of that infrastructure can improve both economics and control over the payment experience, particularly as transaction volumes increase.

$100M+ Deal Could Reshape MENA’s Payments Market

The acquisition arrives during continued growth in digital commerce and financial technology across the Middle East and North Africa.

While digital payment adoption has expanded, MENA remains a collection of distinct markets with different regulators, banks, currencies and consumer payment preferences. That fragmentation creates complexity but also makes regional infrastructure providers strategically valuable.

By combining Amazon Payment Services’ MENA operations with its existing network, PayTabs would gain additional scale while consolidating several payment functions within a single regional platform.

The transaction is particularly notable because it would see a Saudi-born fintech acquire the regional payments operations of one of the world’s largest technology companies, signalling how far some homegrown MENA financial technology companies have progressed from local startups into regional infrastructure players.

With a deal value exceeding $100 million and combined annual payment volumes projected above SAR 150 billion, the acquisition could become one of the more consequential fintech transactions in the region, strengthening PayTabs’ position as consolidation accelerates across MENA’s digital payments industry.