Saudi fintech start-up Tamara lands up to $2.4 billion financing deal

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DUBAI (Reuters) -Saudi Arabian start-up Tamara has secured an up to $2.4 billion financing package from backers including Goldman Sachs, Citi, and Apollo funds that will help the fintech company expand its credit and payment products, it said on Monday.

The Shariah-compliant package will refinance and increase a previous $500 million facility, Tamara said in a statement. The deal includes an initial $1.4 billion, with a further $1 billion available for a three-year period pending further approvals.

“The asset-backed facility will increase Tamara’s lending power and help the platform grow well beyond its current 20 million customers,” the company said.

Tamara is among the Gulf Arab region’s largest providers of buy-now-pay-later payment systems, which allow consumers to split payments for big-ticket purchases. Some charge consumers late fees.

Its rivals in the sector, which gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, include fintech Tabby.

The startup reached a valuation of $1 billion in late 2023 after a $340 million Series C funding round in which investors including SNB Capital and Sanabil Investments, owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, took part. 

(Reporting by Federico Maccioni; Editing by Jan Harvey)