DIFC dips into $100m fund to invest in four start-ups
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has made its first round of major investments since it launched its $100 million fintech fund in 2019.
The DIFC aims to discover and fund start-ups in the MEASA region
The fintechs in question are FlexxPay, Go Rise, Now Money and Sarwa. Each has received pre-Series A to Series A funding from the Dubai fintech fund.
FlexxPay is a cloud-based business-to-business fintech employee benefits platform allowing instant access to earned income.
Go Rise claims to be building a holistic and seamless financial services platform for 250 million global migrants. The start-up wants to help them get access to the full suite of financial products in their new and home countries.
Now Money provides payroll services to Gulf-based companies, and app-based accounts with physical debit card and remittance options for each of their lower-income workers.
Sarwa is a robo-advisory wealth management firm and online financial advisor.
The DIFC says as part of its “commitment to developing the sector,” more applications will be evaluated, and further investments will be made by the fund.
It launched the $100 million Fintech Fund in 2019 in an effort to increase the funding invested in start-ups and early-stage companies based in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) regions.
“The DIFC FinTech Fund accelerates the development of impactful FinTech firms, taking them a step further toward capitalising on the strong growth opportunities available in the region,” says Arif Amiri, chief executive officer at the DIFC Authority.
“Through investing and providing the region’s most comprehensive platform, we can drive innovation across MEASA financial services sector.”
Related: Dubai regulators sign fintech agreement with Luxembourg commission
