QED Enters The GCC With NymCard’s US$33 Million Series B

QED Investors, a global fintech-focused venture capital firm headquartered in the US, has made its first investment in the Gulf by leading a US$33 million Series B funding round for the UAE-based fintech NymCard.  

QED is known for its solid track record of backing successful startups, including Brazil-based Nubank, Sweden-based Klarna, and the US-based Credit Karma. Given its experience in scaling financial technology companies, its first investment in the Gulf can be seen as a reflection of growing confidence in the MENA fintech sector. 

This investment in NymCard–the only embedded finance platform operating across more than 10 countries in the MENA–has been billed as QED’s “most significant” in the region, with Partner Gbenga Ajayi telling Inc. Arabia that it fits with the enterprise’s broader global strategy, following similar successful investment expansions to other developing ecosystems including Europe, Latin America, India and Southeast Asia and Africa.  

“At QED, we describe this concept as geo-arbitrage–the idea that if an idea works in one market, there’s a chance that it could work in another market to solve a similar pain point for a consumer,” Ajayi explains. “You can’t copy and paste the idea perfectly, but you can layer local nuance and regulatory on top of our existing pattern recognition we have seen in other geographies. We think the time is right now as the ecosystem has started to demonstrate a maturity that indicates everyone is ready–consumers, companies, regulators and capital allocators.” 

According to Ajayi, QED’s investment in NymCard is just the beginning of its long-term commitment to the region. “We are active in the region now, and we are looking for more exciting companies,” he said. “Our stage preference is Series A-C, and we will evaluate most companies at the intersection of finance and technology. We love to bring our expertise and experience from similar business models we've successfully invested in from across the world (250 companies and 31 unicorns from five continents), but we are also open to looking at new businesses and opportunities unique to the local ecosystem.”   

QED’s investment in NymCard saw strong backing from other investors, including Abu Dhabi-based Lunate, Delaware-based Knollwood, New York-based Reciprocal and FJLabs, Abu Dhabi-based Shorooq, Dubai-based Oraseya Capital and Dubai Future District Fund, as well as entities like Mashreq Bank, one of the UAE’s leading financial institutions, and Endeavor, a global nonprofit supporting high-impact entrepreneurs, 

With the influx of funds, NymCard is set to expand its presence across the MENA, bolstering its payment infrastructure solutions for banks, enterprises, fintech companies, and telecom providers. The company focuses on three core verticals: card issuing processing, embedded lending, and money movement. Its nCore platform stands out as the only issuer processor in MENA that fully owns its processing and switching technology, giving clients a competitive edge in designing, launching, and scaling payment programs with unmatched flexibility. 

Founded in 2018 by Omar Onsi and Ayman Chalhoub, NymCard has already established itself as a trusted partner for more than 50 banks, fintechs, and enterprises across the region. In Saudi Arabia, the company supports Vision 2030’s push for a cashless economy. In the UAE, it plays a key role in digitizing money movement as a licensed entity under the Central Bank of the UAE. Meanwhile, in Egypt, where fintech innovation is thriving, NymCard supports financial inclusion and technological growth. 

Ajayi told Inc. Arabia that he believes that the MENA’s fintech ecosystem is at a turning point, making it an opportune moment for large-scale investment. “There are many factors that are specific to the MENA/GCC markets that make it an exciting and unique time to invest in a region that is booming,” he said. “First, you have highly sophisticated customers with both high levels of tech adoption and high spending power. It is a younger, digitally-native population that is craving access to the best localized fintech offerings. Whether it’s small-business loans or consumer credit as we've seen with high buy now, pay later (BNPL) players like Tabby and Tamara, the population is hungry for innovation and personalization at scale.” 

He also pointed out that traditional financial institutions in the region are struggling to keep pace with the new wave of fintech innovation. “We think the incumbents are largely falling behind the curve, and they will struggle to catch up to this new generation of nimble, tech-savvy fintechs that focus on the needs of the consumer,” he said. “In addition, the regulators deserve credit for being forward-looking, and actually engaging the innovators, while keeping customers at the heart of what they do. We've been encouraged by the direction of travel of licensing terms and regimes we've seen in the region, and we think it will only get better. We have seen the impact supportive regulators can make in emerging economies in Brazil and India, and we believe this will lead to similar positive outcomes in the Middle East.”  

And while there can be concerns about the relatively small total addressable markets in the region’s markets, Ajayi sees significant upside. “The UAE has only 10 million people, fewer than some neighborhoods Nigeria, India, or Brazil,” he explained. “However, what the markets lack in size, they make up in the depth and the spending power of the consumers and businesses. The throughput here on a unit basis is much higher than almost all other emerging markets. This also means you can build much more efficiently, since you can get more for every dollar of build you put into it.” 

Furthermore, he highlighted the region’s strong capital markets as a critical advantage. “The availability of downstream capital and deep local markets in Saudi and UAE in particular means that you're less worried about funding, and potentially exiting good companies down the line in the way that investors have to worry for in most other markets,” he pointed out. “Great companies built here will attract capital down the road, and will not need to travel outside the region to attract capital and exits.” 

Pictures on the image NymCard CEO Omar Onsi. Image courtesy NymCard.