Saudi fintech Tamara secures $2.4bn asset-backed facility to fuel expansion

Saudi Arabia’s fintech company, Tamara, has raised an asset-backed financing facility of up to $2.4 billion from a consortium of global financial companies, including Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Apollo funds, marking the largest deal of its kind in the Middle East.

Announced during the Money 20/20 Middle East conference in Riyadh, the transaction refinances and upsizes a previous $500 million facility arranged by Goldman Sachs. The package includes an initial $1.4 billion and an additional $1 billion available over three years, pending regulatory approvals.

“This asset-backed facility will increase Tamara’s lending power and help the platform grow well beyond its current 20 million customers,” the company said in a statement, highlighting its plans to expand credit and payment products across the region.

The financing is fully Shariah-compliant and will support Tamara’s strategy to diversify its offerings, including new credit and payment services. It also underscores a growing commitment by international investors to Saudi Arabia’s fintech sector, aligning with Vision 2030 and the kingdom’s financial sector development program, which aims to deepen capital markets and spur private-sector growth.

Founded in 2020, Tamara has been one of the leading players in the Gulf’s buy-now-pay-later market, enabling transactions at more than 87,000 merchants. The company achieved unicorn status in late 2023 after a $340 million series C round led by SNB Capital and Sanabil Investments, a unit of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.

With this latest financing, Tamara plans to scale its platform far beyond its current customer base and accelerate regional expansion, further cementing Saudi Arabia’s role as a hub for innovation and inward investment in financial technology.