US Everything Blockchain and KSA based Al Rushaid tech ART to expand blockchain next generation database in MENA

US Everything Blockchain and KSA based Al Rushaid tech ART to expand blockchain next generation database in MENA

USA based Everything Blockchain Inc, a technology company that is blending blockchain, DBMS and Zero Trust to deliver disruptive new ways to store, manage and protect data, has partnered with Saudi Arabia’s Al-Rushaid Technologies (ART) IT subsidiary of Al Rushaid Group. ART will become a non-exclusive reseller of BuildDB, EBI’s next-generation database powered by a advanced private blockchain architecture that delivers superior performance, reduced latency, zero trust and unmatched resilience.

As per the press release, the two companies will work to deliver highly-differentiated data protection solutions to countries in the Middle East and North Africa.

ART offers a variety of innovative IT solutions suitable for companies of all sizes and across various industries. The five-year distribution deal with a combined total of $47 million in performance based milestone payments to EBI will position ART as the exclusive agent of the company’s EB Control platform in several MENA countries, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Egypt.

EB Control safeguards data on the owner’s local device by creating a secure vault. This vault can be stored, transported or shared, allowing owners to maintain complete control for the lifespan of the data. With EB Control, data and files can be geo-fenced, time-fenced and data rights management invoked. With this innovative technology, data can be confidently shared and controlled outside of a secure domain.

“We are thrilled for this partnership with ART,” said Toney Jennings, Chief Executive Officer, EBI. “EB Control merges simplicity of use with elevated and extended security protections. We are confident that our technology will exceed all data protection needs of small and medium-sized businesses to large corporations across MENA countries.”

In March 2022, USA based Everything Blockchain,, opened its offices in Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Originally called GigeTech Inc. and then OBITX, Inc., Everything Blockchain, was established in March 2017. In April 2020, through a change of control action, it discontinued that line of operations in favor of Blockchain development. 

Blockchain CargoX to take over former IBM Tradelens customers in MENA

Blockchain CargoX to take over former IBM Tradelens customers in MENA

CargoX, the provider of the fastest-growing electronic trade document platform, and CEBS Worldwide, a global integrator of business solutions and a former TradeLens integrator, launched a partnership to help corporations continue the digitalization of their bills of lading and trade document workflows even those in the MENA region. 

Businesses that started using TradeLens for their eB/L have been scrambling to migrate their electronic trade document processing to a new platform since TradeLens unexpectedly announced the end of its service in December 2022. 

While TradeLens was able to onboard global carriers — CMA CGM, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Co., Hapag-Lloyd, Ocean Network Express and Zim Integrated Shipping Services — it announced in November 2022 it would shutter due to a lack of a path toward profitability. TradeLens was also piloting projects in Oman and KSA. 

Saudi Customs, in partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the General Authority of Ports, and Maersk International Company, one of the founders of Tradelens had announced in 2019 the successful Blockchain pilot and the importance of blockchain technology in the shipping industry.

In addition Oman’s Port of Salalah  took the first step and is collaborating with Oman Customs and TradeLens built on IBM Hyperledger Fabric Platform for shipping and logistics industry. 

The new partnership provides existing customers of the discontinued TradeLens platform with a proven, reliable and powerful alternative for creating, transferring, and processing electronic bills of lading and trade documents. CEBS and CargoX will provide former TradeLens users with a frictionless transition of their workflows on the TradeLens platform by integrating the platform features through CEBS’s framework interfaces.

CEBS will start migrating current TradeLens customers to their Supply Chain Finance platform and the CargoX Blockchain Document Transfer (BDT) Platform for electronic trade document exchange. This is accomplished by using CEBS’s middleware cloud and on-premise platform to help organizations effortlessly leverage different public blockchains in their enterprise applications, saving time and money.

This way, companies can become future-proof and fully blockchain platform agnostic. Companies can keep their everyday workflows and introduce CargoX’s optimized, tightly integrated blockchain document transfer features into their existing processes. 

Satish Swaroop, CEO of CEBS Worldwide said: “We are committed to digitalizing the supply chain network for all trading partners and ensuring all transactions and documents exchanged are secure, traceable, and immutable. We have good partnerships and teams working with the public and private sector to shape the future and usher in a new era of global trade that is both frictionless and compliant.” 

Stefan Kukman, CEO of CargoX said: “We are incredibly proud to welcome CEBS as our new partner. They are a true innovator in the market, binding together diverse solutions and platforms to build customer value. The digitalization of trade documentation is in full swing worldwide, and companies need all the support and advice they can get to implement the optimum solutions into their everyday workflows. “We see demand rising daily, and more than 104,000 companies registered on our platform prove that the CargoX Platform is becoming a standard item in the toolboxes of modern supply chain participants.” 

CargoX in 2022 announced that Egypt had extended its agreement with Blockchain CargoX to include air cargo in its efforts to accelerate digital transformation of Egypt’s trade flows with the world. At the time the NAFEZA CargoX blockchain document transfer gateway had seamlessly and safely transferred more than 1,100,000 actual trade and finance documents for more than 75,000 customers.

The public-private partnership Misr Technology Services (MTS),80% owned by the Egyptian government, authorized CargoX as its blockchain document transfer gateway service provider for the country’s official NAFEZA single-window trade platform in March 2021. 

Oman indecisive over CBDC but adamant that crypto is an asset not a currency

Oman indecisive over CBDC but adamant that crypto is an asset not a currency

During a discussion panel at the Youth Center in Muscat Oman, the Oman Central Bank governor Tahir Bin Salim Al Amri stated that the Central Bank of Oman along with many other central banks globally do not recognize crypto as currencies. He stated, “It is not a means of payment it is a commodity or an asset of some sort that is being traded mainly for capital gains.”

He also noted that while the Central Bank of Oman is keeping an open mind while maintaining caution because of the risky nature of crypto assets.

This month the Oman Capital Authority announced that it would be launching its virtual asset framework. Commenting on this the governor Al Amri stated that they were part of the creation of the framework.  He also noted that the Central Bank of Oman was in the process of developing its CBDC ( Central Bank Digital Currency), with a final decision expected to be announced at the end of 2023.

The proposed new regulatory framework is envisaged to cover activities such as crypto assets, tokens, crypto exchanges, and initial coin offerings, among others. The regulation for virtual assets in Oman is important, as it will provide a clear and secure framework for the growth of the virtual assets industry. The move towards digitalization and the adoption of virtual assets aligns with the Sultanate’s Vision 2040 of a digitally transformed economy and financial sector, while attracting foreign investments into Oman.

Oman announces upcoming launch of Virtual asset regulatory framework

Oman announces upcoming launch of Virtual asset regulatory framework

The Oman Capital Market Authority has announced that it will  establish the Virtual Assets Regulatory Framework to regulate and develop the market in the Sultanate of Oman.

The Capital Market Authority (CMA), which regulates and develops the Sultanate’s financial markets for the capital market and insurance sectors, is planning to establish the new proposed regulatory framework for Virtual Assets (VA) and Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP). 

As per the press release, this move highlights the Sultanate’s growing recognition and the CMA’s proactive approach to develop the digital assets and fintech industry in Oman.

This important initiative in Oman was announced during a public stakeholders engagement session held at the CMA recently and being led by the CMA. By regulating and developing the virtual assets industry, the CMA aims to provide an alternative financing and investment platform for issuers and investors, while mitigating the risks associated with this asset class.

The CMA is in the process of defining a comprehensive and facilitative regulatory framework, which will include a new regulation to cover all virtual assets activities, a licensing framework for all VASP categories and a supervisory framework to identify, assess, and mitigate ongoing risks. The aim of this new regulation is to establish a market regime for virtual assets that includes rules to prevent market abuse, including through surveillance and enforcement mechanisms.

The proposed new regulatory framework is envisaged to cover activities such as crypto assets, tokens, crypto exchanges, and initial coin offerings, among others. The regulation for virtual assets in Oman is important, as it will provide a clear and secure framework for the growth of the virtual assets industry. The move towards digitalization and the adoption of virtual assets aligns with the Sultanate’s Vision 2040 of a digitally transformed economy and financial sector, while attracting foreign investments into Oman.

The CMA has also appointed XReg Consulting Limited, an international policy and regulatory consultancy specializing in virtual assets, and Said Al-Shahry and Partners, Advocates & Legal Consultants (SASLO), an Omani law firm, to advise and assist the CMA. This collaboration brings together expertise in policy, law and technology to assist in the creation of a comprehensive regulatory framework for virtual assets in Oman.

Back in  June 2022 Oman Capital Market Authority  issued its new Securities Law (46/2022) which  stipulates that the authority can “Agree to application of technologies, virtual digital investments or any products or services in the areas related to the provisions of this law, as set out in the Regulation.”

Oman was only one of the first countries in the region to allow crypto mining , mining its first Bitcoin in December 2022.    While The Oman Water and Waste Water Services Company ( OWWSC), member of Nama Group, trialed a stablecoin linked to the Oman Riyal. The company signed an MOU with Oman based Digital Digits, the creators of Easy coins and Connected Chains to trial “ Hasalah” a stablecoin Wallet.   

UAE to issue stablecoin for payments legislation soon and maybe even DeFi

UAE to issue stablecoin for payments legislation soon and maybe even DeFi

As per a recent PWC Crypto regulation report 2023, the UAE has finalized its crypto regulation, includes AML/ CTF Money laundering and counter terrorist financing rules as well as its travel rule and has already prepared the stablecoin regulation for payments which is awaiting final legislation. ( refer to graph page 8 of report).

For those not familiar with the travel rule, it is a Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) rule [31 CFR 103.33) which requires all financial institutions to pass on certain information to the next financial institution, in certain funds transmittals involving more than one financial institution.

This PwC Global Crypto Regulation 2023 report provides an overview of the crypto regulation landscape, with a focus on financial services. It offers insights into how the regulatory frameworks are developing across the world and seeks to identify how this may impact relevant industry participants and virtual service providers within the financial services sector.

The report notes that UAE authorities are assessing their approach to areas including stablecoins and wider DeFi.

In addition as per the report, the Central Bank of UAE is establishing its position in communicating permissible virtual asset activities to local banks. These include opening accounts for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) better known as crypto exchanges. 

 UAE Securities Commodities Authority with its Decision on Crypto Assets Activities Regulation (CAAR), regulates the offering, issuing, listing and trading of crypto assets in onshore UAE. This includes the initial coin offering exchanges, marketplaces, crowdfunding platforms, custodian services and related financial services based upon or leveraging crypto assets.

In December 2022 the UAE Cabinet updates some of its legislations including those pertaining to virtual business and virtual assets allowing them to be regulated onshore.

As for the rest of the GCC and Arab countries, the report notes that Bahrain has implemented crypto regulations and AML/CTF  yet has not implemented neither the travel rule nor stablecoin regulations for payments.

Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman have not initiated a crypto regulation process, while KSA and Qatar have prohibited cryptocurrencies.

It is interesting that while the report for example considers that Oman has not initiated the crypto regulation process, Oman had announced in 2021 that it was launching through the Central Bank a high level Oman cryptocurrency task force to study the economic advantages and disadvantages of authorizing the use of cryptocurrencies in the country.

In January 2022 Oman capital markets Authority announced a tender for specialized companies to assist in setting up a legislative and regulatory framework for virtual assets and licensing supervision and regulations of Virtual assets service providers within the Sultanate of Oman. Since then no other announcements have been made.

Both Bahrain and Oman have allowed crypto payments to be made in the country through virtual asset providers. Oman based, cryptocurrency broker, Easy Coins launched its trial of Tether USDT on the Tron Blockchain. Accordingly Easy Coin users in Oman can now purchase TRC20 USDT. At the end of 2021 there were 43 thousand registered crypto wallet addresses in Oman.

In the meantime even stablecoins are being trialled in Oman. The Oman Water and Waste Water Services Company (OWWSC), member of Nama Group, to trial a stablecoin linked to the Oman Riyal. The company signed an MOU with Oman based Digital Digits, the creators of Easy coins and Connected Chains to trial “ Hasalah” a stablecoin Wallet.

While in Bahrain EazyPay, a payments solution provider partnered with Binance’s Binance Pay to launch a regulated and approved crypto payments service offering in the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia crypto traders and investors are growing despite the ban on cryptocurrencies and the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia has created a division to study implementation of virtual assets and CBDCs. In 2022, Qatar announced the introduction of its blockchain blueprint for the country.

So while regulations are essential for the growth of crypto ecosystem, and the UAE is leading in this regards, it doesn’t mean that crypto is not being utilized in other countries regardless of their regulatory status. 

62 percent of Oman crypto owners plan to increase crypto holding in 2023

62 percent of Oman crypto owners plan to increase crypto holding in 2023

About 65,000 Oman residents own cryptocurrencies, equivalent to 1.9 percent of the population. In a recent survey carried out by Oman based Souq Analyst, the largest investment community in Oman, it was found that 90% of crypto owners’ are between the ages of 18 and 44. Only 8% are over the age of 45.

The survey results also noted that the majority owners are highly educated, with 66% of them holding a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Souq Analyst offers stock market news and analysis, investing ideas, earnings calls, charts and portfolio analysis to its community members. In addition the community offers country specific insights on finance, cryptocurrencies, crowd funding & investing as well as access community events, workshop and webinars.

According to the survey an impressive 97.9% of Omani adults have heard about cryptocurrency, indicating an increasing level of awareness. 55% of respondents report owning cryptocurrency and Bitcoin is the most popular followed by Ethereum, Ripple, Tether and other alternative coins.

Mohammed Al-Tamami Co-founder & Chief Commercial officer of Mamun and Founder of Souq Analyst, told LaraontheBlock, “Firstly and foremost data like this is generally useful to everyone. It also offers insights into some unique trends that you didn’t consider say adoption of a certain token or cryptocurrency take XRP ownership in Oman is noticeable according to results in our survey mentioned in the report.”

Over 12% of respondents reported owning more than 10,000 OMR worth of crypto assets equivalent to $26,000. In addition, 62 percent of the respondents plan to increase their cryptocurrency holding in 2023. 

According to the survey, 62% of cryptocurrency owners invest long-term, while 25% use digital assets for learning and education, and 23% trade daily.

Al Tamami founded Souq analyst to be a provider of quality reports on the industry because it’s useful for their own activities in the space including their fund.

The survey is interesting in that it shows that cryptocurrency holders are still bullish on crypto in Oman.

Oman to develop Blockchain valley with Chainsense

Oman to develop Blockchain valley with Chainsense

Oman’s National Real Estate Development and Investment SAOC (OSOS) and Blockchain development company Chainsense have signed an MoU to set up  a Blockchain Valley within the Sultanate of Oman.

OSOS offers a variety of services that meet the requirements of the real estate market efficiently, through a specialized management team and its strong backing from the major shareholders such as Royal Oman Police (ROP) Pension Fund (PF), Ministry of Defence PF, Diwan PF, Public Authority of Social Insurance, Bank Muscat, MB Holdings, Al Madina Investments and Al Rayan Bank Qatar.

Activities of OSOS include the real estate development, management, operations, and valuations of real estate, along with special focus on investments in lucrative and value-added opportunities in the region which synchronized with the Oman Vision 2040.

Chainsense Ltd is a Tech MNC headquartered in London with its presence in four countries including the UAE. It offers its services to over 429 clients and has completed 85 blockchain projects.

The MOU was signed in the presence of Mir Ata Ali Khan, Adviser, Nipoon Agarwal— Director and COO Chainsense, Ganesh Lore, Founder and CTO Chainsense, and Abdullah Al Hinai, HOP at OSOS.

Oman mines first Bitcoin at first licensed crypto mining data center in MENA

Oman mines first Bitcoin at first licensed crypto mining data center in MENA

Oman Ministry of Transport, Communications, and IT in partnership with Green Data City (GDC) the next generation data blockchain ecosystem, have launched the first licensed sustainable crypto mining datacenter in Oman, and the GCC.  The delegation witnessed the first Bitcoin officially mined in Oman using immersive cooling technology which will reduce electricity consumption.

The crypto mining datacenter is based in Mirbat  Salalah Oman because of its cooler climate. Under this license, industrial mining companies can now register directly with GDC Mining and operate within the development.

H.E. Said bin Hamoud al Maawali, Minister of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, inaugurated the Sultanate of Oman’s first crypto mining data center, set up by Green Data City. Al Maawali was joined by Dr. Ali bin Amer al Shidhani, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology for Communication and Information Technology, Shaikh Suhail bin Mohammed al Khathiri, Deputy Wali of Mirbat, Talal al Aufi, CEO of OQ, and Olivier Ohnheiser, CEO, Green Data City.

Bitmain, Bitfield, BBGS and Enegix representative were present as well.

Green Data City will develop in two phases. The first phase of development consists of 200MW of mining capacity; the second phase will reach 400MW hyperscale data center capacity, and develop downstream activities including renewable energy, hydrogen, sea-water A/C (SWAC), desalination, food industries and cosmetics. Real estate and hospitality investments will join the development of the new hub, and create the next generation sustainable hyperscale data eco-system in the region.

Large scale mining companies and data center owners can now register directly under the GDC license and operate in the development. The capacities will be allocated in the coming weeks. Al Maawali stated, “The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology seeks to build cooperative partnerships with leading local and international private sector entities in the various types of digital technologies, as the Ministry works to attract foreign investments in this ever-developing industry.”

Olivier Ohnheiser, CEO of Green Data City, added “The south of Oman is strategically positioned  on the network routes and has unique advantages to establish successful and sustainable hyper scale data centers, such as stable economy, large surplus electricity, cool weather in the Salalah region, unique access to cold deep ocean water next to the shore, and high renewable energy.”

On the website, H.E. Ali Shidhani,  Undersecretary for Communications and Information Technology, Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology “The Green Data City project has the potential to strengthen the Country’s position on the Data Processing and Blockchain markets, while creating qualified jobs and developing unique green data centers”

Olivier Ohnheiser CEO, Green Data City states on the website,“ Oman is a haven of peace, and the South is a hidden gem. Its natural advantages eclipse other locations in the region like Dubai or NEOM city, in terms of political stability and neutrality, temperate climate, cold water availability and natural wonders. The country is supporting Data and Deep Ocean industries with large and stable power supplies, backed by long term agreements. We could not have hoped for a better environment to implement this vision.”

This comes after Oman’s sovereign wealth fund took an equity stake investing $350 million in US firm Crusoe Energy which uses flared and stranded natural gas to mine crypto. Crusoe was supposedly opening an office in Oman after the investment to deply generators and mining equipment for capturing gas at well sites.

The region has become a hot bed for crypto mining, with UAE making advancements in this area. But as one notes from the comments of CEO of Green Data City, it also seems NEOM city in KSA are working on something similar.

Local Oman crypto broker Easy Coins launches Tether USDT on its platform

Local Oman crypto broker Easy Coins launches Tether USDT on its platform

Oman based, cryptocurrency broker, Easy Coins announced on twitter that it had launched its trial of Tether USDT on the Tron Blockchain. Accordingly Easy Coin users in Oman can now purchase TRC20 USDT. At the end of 2021 there were 43 thousand registered crypto wallet addresses in Oman. 

LaraontheBlock spoke with Dr. Khalid M.W. Tahhan, Co-Founder, Easy Coins ME on the recent Tether trial. According to Tahhan the reason for choosing to trial tether is that it is the largest stablecoin and there is a huge demand for it in the Omani market. He adds, “Easy Coins is also in the process of launching its own Omani Riyal backed stablecoin which will be backed 1:1 with Omani Riyals, ensuring a better peg than USDT.”

While most consider the crypto market to be falling and bearish, Tahhan feels otherwise. He states, “We at Easy Coins believe that Bitcoin will remain competing as a reserve asset. We also believe a lot of the tokens produced from thin air will lose their value. Finally and most importantly, we believe these public Decentralized blockchains will be the new payment rails of the future and are developing solutions to utilize them.”

He explains that Easy Coins is the first non-custodial crypto broker in the MENA region. He states, “We always believed in self-custody and hence deployed a compliance focused self-custody solution from the start to ensure nothing like FTX can happen to our customers.”

In terms of crypto regulations in Oman, while still not regulated, Easy Coins is a formally registered startup at the Oman Ministry of Commerce and Industry as well as part of Jadara Program of the Oman Ministry of Transport, communication and Information Technology.

In short he states, “We are self-regulated and follow compliance methodologies from Europe in the interim. We will become a licensed entity once the regulators in Oman are ready to license such activities.”

Easy Coins is the only cryptocurrency broker in the region that accepts all Omani Debit and Credit Cards and offers lower payment processor fees when using our service with Omani Debit Card.

Prior to this announcement Easy Coins was trialing a stablecoin backed by the Oman Riyal with the Oman Water and Waste Water Services Company ( OWWSC), member of Nama Group. Oman Water signed an MOU with Oman based Digital Digits, the creators of Easy coins and Connected Chains to trial “ Hasalah” a stablecoin Wallet.

The companies would trial a cryptographic stablecoin pegged to the Omani Riyal to be utilized as payment from subscribers in select OWWSC customer halls as well as on Easy Coin. Payments will be made using Hasalah Digital Wallet.

In June 2022, The Executive President of the Central Bank of Oman, Mr. Tahir Salim Al Amri, commented during the 7t Edition of the new Age Banking Summit on the topic of CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies)  that the Central Bank of Oman is working to issue its own CBDC. 

In Parallel, the Oman Capital Market Authority issued its new Securities Law (46/2022) which stipulates that the authority can “Agree to application of technologies, virtual digital investments or any products or services in the areas related to the provisions of this law, as set out in the Regulation.”

Additionally Oman is working towards tokenization of real-estate. The Oman Capital Market Authority (OCMA) is set to include real estate tokenization in its virtual asset regulatory framework, a report quoting an advisor of the authority has said. According to the report, Oman expects to complete drafting the virtual assets regulatory framework by Q3 of 2022.

UAE Blockchain enabled Fintech payments entity raises in total close to $40 million USD to expand

UAE Blockchain enabled Fintech payments entity raises in total close to $40 million USD to expand

It is not surprising that a Blockchain Fintech startup such as Abu Dhabi based Pyypl would raise $20 million in its Series B round from new and existing investors. Since its inception UAE based Pyypl with offices out of Hub71, has not only advocated financial inclusion but has built its technology to ensure it. It was name the one of the top 37 crypto startups to watch in 2022 by Techround UK.

About 22 per cent of the GCC’s population is unbanked, compared with 60 per cent in North Africa, according to a report by consultancy Strategy&.

Blockchain enabled Pyypl provides digital payments and financial services for all smartphone users to carry out online transactions, without the need for a bank account or credit card. 

Pyypl uses advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for regulatory compliance, Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Terrorism Financing (CTF). They are a full blockchain-native financial services backend-platform, having developed the technology themselves.

Their platform conducts real-time Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) and sanctions (both country and individual) screening against latest and historical UNSC, USDT, FATF, OFAC, and EUCFSF records, as well as all local databases.

Initially Pyyple was regulated and operational in both Abu Dhabi ADGM in UAE as well as in Bahrain. On its website it states that it has received authorization in Kenya, Mozambique, Kazakhstan, and is in preparations to expand to other countries. On its website its posts that the company is currently preparing for operations in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tanzania, Oman, Qatar, Uganda, Namibia, Jordan and Kuwait. In previous months it began hiring in preparation for its Oman launch. Pyypl aims to be in 20+ markets within the next five years.

Through Pyypl’s platform, it is able to connect any smartphone owner into the formal financial system. Pyypl’s card services have been used by its rapidly expanding customer base at thousands of merchants globally, in over a hundred different currencies, by customers from over a hundred nationalities.

With connections to numerous global financial institutions facilitating cross-border money transfers, Pyypl’s solutions also cover many key remittance corridors in the region.

Pyypl recently became the first-ever company in the Middle East to deploy a “Blockchain On-Demand Liquidity” solution for its customer cross-border transfers, in partnership with Ripple, who also recently awarded the company with a prestigious “2021 Global Visionary” award . Earlier in 2021, Visa and Pyypl announced a Middle East and Africa Strategic Partnership Agreement, further positioning Pyypl as a leader in the region’s FinTech sector.  

With $78 billion in remittances in 2020 from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) combined, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is home to two of the top three remittance corridors in the world. The region is also undergoing a fast-moving shift to digital and boasts one of the world’s most progressive financial regulatory environments.

Prior to the recent $20 million Series B round, Pyypl had raised $18.5m in its Series A round from a diverse group of investors from Europe, the US, Asia and the Middle East, including UAE-based venture capital company Global Ventures. At the time, the Pyypl app had been downloaded 2 million times since its launch in 2021, with the company growing to 150 employees.

The latest round brings total investment to close to $40 million, the company said, and will enable it to expand across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) as well as product development and new features of the company’s proprietary technology.

LaraontheBlock had spoken to Antti Arponen, CEO of Pyypl on expansion plans in Oman. He noted, “Our latest fund raise from earlier this year is being used to turbocharge Pyypl’s growth in our core GCC markets and expand into new ones – including Oman. Oman and the GCC region in general, are very competent, top-grade jurisdictions globally. Yet the relatively high proportion of people who are financially underserved makes it ripe for FinTech innovation. Oman’s young, tech savvy population is demanding digital payment solutions that work globally, and Pyypl wishes to contribute to growing a financial ecosystem in the country that can meet these expectations.”

He added that ultimately Pyypl’s aim was to reach 1 billion smartphone users in the MEA region. He stated, “Pyypl’s fast and secure digital payments services are already available at the tap of a smartphone screen in multiple MEA markets. Ultimately, our aim is to reach the 1 billion smartphone users in the MEA region.”