Open Banking platform Tarabut Gateway raises $13 mln in MENA's largest seed round

Published 23 Feb,2021 via MENAbytes - Bahrain-headquartered Open Banking platform Tarabut Gateway has raised $13 million in a seed round led by Berlin-headquartered European VC Target Global. The round was also joined by United Kingdom’s Kingsway and Entrée Capital as well as regional investors like Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies, and Mad’a Investment. According to our data, it is the largest-ever seed round raised by a startup in the region.

Tarabut Gateway is building the Plaid for the Middle East & North Africa, enabling fintechs and other financial services providers to access financial data of the customers from partner banks through its Open Banking APIs, which allows them to build new apps and services. It claims to be the first regulated (and largest) Open Banking platform in the region. According to its website, the fintech currently has partner banks in Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, United Kingdom, India, UAE.

Started in Bahrain in 2017, Tarabut Gateway has recently expanded to the United Arab Emirates, and currently has offices in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, London, and Manama.