Dubai-based buy now, pay later company Tabby raised $54 million from Sequoia Capital India and Saudi Arabia’s STV as it seeks to expand its operations globally.
Existing investors Mubadala Investment Capital, Arbor Ventures and Global Founders Capital also participated in the company’s extended funding round, which began last year, Tabby said on Monday.
Tabby raised $50m in debt financing last June in an initial venture capital funding round also led by Arbor Ventures and Mubadala Capital.
The new funding will also help the company to expand its consumer product offering.
“The rapid adoption we continue to see today shows the urgency of consumer demand for flexible and honest payment experiences over predatory interest-driven credit,” said chief executive and co-founder Hosam Arab.
The BNPL business model, which allows consumers to make online purchases instantly and spread their payments out over interest-free instalments, has boomed since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The industry is expected to grow 10 to 15 times by 2025 worldwide, topping $1 trillion in annual gross merchandise volume by some estimates, according to a report by New York data research consultancy CB Insights.
Tabby’s platform went live in February 2020 and has since signed agreements with more than 3,000 global brands and small businesses, including Adidas, Ikea, Bloomingdale’s, Marks & Spencer, Home Centre and Toys R Us.
Tabby has more than 1.1 million active shoppers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The company has so far raised more than $180m in debt and equity, which includes $150m it raised last year.
Tabby has built a “strong, customer-first and market-leading” BNPL business in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, said G V Ravishankar, Sequoia’s manager director.
“We are excited to join their journey as they continue to build a consumer-focused financial services business across the region.”
Last summer, the start-up introduced a loyalty programme that rewards customers with physical cash that they can either use to fund new purchases, settle future payments or transfer to their bank accounts.
Customers can earn up to 20 per cent cashback after purchasing items from the platform's retail partners.
“We are strong believers that the company will continue spearheading BNPL's growth across the region, fuelled by the rapid switch to digital payments, e-commerce growth and remarkable product vision and team,” said Ahmad Alshammari, partner at STV.
Online retailers using Tabby's payment solution have suffered a more than 10 percentage point decline in the use of cash on delivery by their customers.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
RACE CARD
5pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Purebred Arabian Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Cup Conditions (PA); Dh 200,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Cup Listed (TB); Dh 380,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Group 3 (PA); Dh 500,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan National Day Jewel Crown Group 1 (PA); Dh 5,000,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan Racing Festival Handicap (PA); Dh 150,000 (T) 1,400m
8pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 (T); 1,400m
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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