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Tabby
Hosam Arab's Tabby became the Middle East's first fintech unicorn, processing over $6B in annualized BNPL volume across 40,000 merchants.
Tabby
Hosam Arab and Daniil Barkalov launched Tabby in 2019 after observing that GCC consumers had some of the highest cart abandonment rates in the world. The firm licenses its technology and holds regulatory permissions from the Saudi Central Bank, which allows it to underwrite credit risk directly and integrate with regional retail giants through a pay-in-four model. Wealth origin is not a family legacy but venture capital: Tabby raised from Sequoia Capital India, STV, Mubadala Investment Capital, and PayPal Ventures. Tabby deploys its balance sheet and partner capital into short-duration consumer receivables, underwriting each transaction at the point of sale. Asset classes are concentrated in consumer credit and merchant services. The portfolio remains entirely in the Middle East, with active origination in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. Tabby's underwriting engine flags creditworthiness using open-banking rails and phone-data signals. Merchant partners include Noon, IKEA, and Adidas. In 2023 the firm launched Tabby Card, a physical and digital card accepted anywhere Visa is, funded by its credit lines. Tabby's valuation reached $1.5 billion in its most recent disclosed round (per FT, 2023). Headcount has not been published. The firm maintains dual headquarters in Riyadh and Dubai, with operations staffed across both. Adjacent vehicles include Tabby Shop, a merchant discovery platform that lets retailers bid for exposure to Tabby's consumer base. In August 2024 Tabby completed a $250 million Series D debt-and-equity raise from Wellington Management and others (per Bloomberg, August 2024) to fund the expansion of its card product into Turkey and Egypt. Tabby's structural differentiator is its full-stack licensing in Saudi Arabia — it is not a payments reseller but a regulated credit institution that books its own loan book. That posture lets it price risk directly, bypassing the bank-issued credit-card infrastructure that dominates GCC retail finance. Its regulatory moat in the kingdom, where obtaining a finance license is rare for fintechs, separates it from BNPL providers that operate merely as marketing channels for bank partners.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2019
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
Middle East
Country
Saudi Arabia
City
Riyadh
Corporate office
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Additional offices
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Principals
Hosam Arab
CEO & Co-Founder
Daniil Barkalov
CTO & Co-Founder
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment and credit decisions at Tabby?
Co-founder and CEO Hosam Arab leads executive management. Credit-underwriting decisions are automated through Tabby's proprietary scoring engine, which the internal risk team oversees. The firm has not disclosed a separate chief investment officer; its balance sheet is funded through equity and venture debt facilities rather than allocator capital.
How is Tabby licensed to operate in Saudi Arabia?
Tabby holds a permit from the Saudi Central Bank to conduct consumer finance activities directly. This differs from BNPL operators that rely on bank partners for underwriting. The license lets Tabby book its own receivables and set its own risk parameters, making it a regulated lender rather than a technology middleware provider.
Is Tabby a family office or an asset manager?
Tabby is a licensed fintech company and lender, not a family office. It does not manage external LP capital in a fund structure. The firm funds its consumer loan book through a mix of equity capital, venture debt, and structured credit lines — it has not raised capital through a blind-pool investment vehicle.
What is Tabby's relationship with Mubadala and other sovereign investors?
Mubadala Investment Capital, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, participated in Tabby's financing rounds as a minority equity investor. The relationship extends to capital provision but does not confer governance control. Other government-linked backers such as STV, a Saudi venture firm backed by the Public Investment Fund, also hold equity stakes.
Does Tabby operate outside the Gulf region?
Tabby's active markets are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait. The firm has announced plans to enter Turkey and Egypt following its August 2024 raise. It does not currently operate in Europe, North America, or Asia.
How does Tabby source its merchant partnerships?
Merchant acquisition is primarily direct: Tabby integrates with regional retail platforms at checkout. It also operates Tabby Shop, a consumer-facing marketplace where merchants pay to appear, generating lead flow. Unlike affiliate-driven US BNPL firms, Tabby's merchant relationships are concentrated in large retail groups such as Al Futtaim and Landmark Group.
What happens to Tabby's loan book if a consumer defaults?
Tabby retains default risk on its balance sheet. The firm reports late fees but does not charge compounding interest; its revenue model depends primarily on merchant fees rather than consumer interest income. The firm's underwriting model includes automated collection workflows and credit-bureau reporting in Saudi Arabia.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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