Fintech Digest: Mubadala Remains Optimistic About Crypto Investments

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Mubadala has made investments in the crypto ecosystem amidst its growing value, Reuters reported.

“This is a business that had, what $200 billion worth of crypto value two years ago, and it’s two and a half trillion dollars today and growing,”

the report cited Mubadala CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak as saying.

Al Mubarak added that while many people remained sceptical about crypto as an investment, “I don’t fall in that category.”

Without disclosing how much the fund expects to plough into crypto investment, Al Mubarak noted that Mubadala was investing in crypto-related infrastructure, such as blockchain technology and energy usage.

Meanwhile, Mubadala has also backed a number of local and international fintech companies this year. Globally, it led Berlin-based insurtech startup WeFox’s US$125 million Series B, and participated in a US$100 million Series C for Chicago-based multi-issuer technology platform Halo.

It also funnelled funds towards local fintech startups BNPL company tabby (US$50 million venture round), personal investments app Sarwa (US$15 million Series B) and insurtech startup Hala (US$5 million venture round).

Further, Mubadala also backed VC VentureSouq’s US$50 million MENA FinTech Fund I, and the Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners venture fund this year.

MEA Fintech News Highlights

Regional News

The Arab Monetary Fund and Mastercard sign an MoU for interoperability between Mastercard and cross-border multi-currency payment system Buna (Fintech News Middle East).

Uganda

Ugandan superapp SafeBoda receives funding from Google’s US$50 million Africa Investment Fund (Fintech News Africa).

Nigeria

Canada-based digital transaction platform BlocPal International and its majority-owned Nigerian subsidiary PayPassage to launch a financial services marketplace in Nigeria (Fintech News Africa).

Nigeria-headquartered mobility fintech Moove expands to Kenya (Tech-ish).

Nigeria-based global share dealing app Trove Finance wins the fourth edition of the annual Ecobank Fintech Challenge (BusinessPost).

Nigeria’s African Blockchain Lab picks up US$6 million in a pre-Series A round for its crypto wallet VIBRA (Disrupt Africa).

South Africa

Challenger bank Tyme closes its US$180 million Series B round with US$70 million funding from Tencent and CDC (Fintech News Africa).

Access Bank and South African challenger bank Bettr announce a partnership as the latter looks to launch in March 2022 (Zawya).

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s Fintech Accelerator Program now offers a new regulatory track (The Fintech Times).

Saudi based blockchain company Wethaq Securities launches in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (Unlock).

Egypt

Digital wallet solution EasyCash by Wallet Factory soft launches in Egypt (Zawya).

Uber and Paymob partner to launch in-app payment solutions in Egypt (The Paypers).

Qatar

Qatar-based digital bak Qatar Islamic Bank launches a new remittance service, Visa Direct, in partnership with Visa (The Fintech Times).

UAE

UAE-based lending platform Lnddo partners with global SaaS cloud banking platform Mambu for a scalable SME digital lending solution (Fintech News Middle East).

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance may set up a global base in Dubai (Fintech News Middle East).

Dubai’s Global Ventures is close to raising US$100 million for a second fund, for funding target sectors including fintech (Reuters).

UAE and India look to strike deals in fintech space (Gulf News).

Commercial Bank of Dubai opens its Digital Lab at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Innovation Hub (TradeArabia).

Network International announced as payment and technology partner for the UAE’s first licensed digital-only bank, Al Maryah Community Bank (TradeArabia).