Paymob Raises $35 Million for MENA Expansion
Paymob Raises $35 Million for MENA Expansion
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Key Points
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Paymob’s platform integrates more than 60 payment methods—including cards, local payment networks and buy-now-pay-later services—through a single contract, API and dashboard, while combining online and offline payments with transaction-management tools.
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The latest round brings Paymob’s total funding to about $125 million. Its previous financing included a $50 million Series B in 2022 and a $22 million Series B extension led by EBRD in 2024.
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Paymob was founded in Cairo in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy while they were university students, initially addressing the difficulty of accepting online payments in Egypt.
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The company’s merchant tools extend beyond payment acceptance to include a payment gateway, point-of-sale terminals, SoftPOS and payment links, as well as financial-management capabilities.
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Paymob’s CEO Islam Shawky said the company had “morphed into a regional platform” over the previous 18 months and that the funding would help fast-track its roadmap to become a payments platform for agentic commerce.
Egyptian payments company Paymob raised $35 million in a pre-Series C round led by Mubadala and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, according to Fintech Global. The funding will accelerate expansion across the Middle East and North Africa, with focus on serving small and medium-sized businesses. Paymob's consolidated revenue tripled in the past 18 months, while revenue from the Gulf Cooperation Council region grew sevenfold and now accounts for nearly half of total revenue, Mubadala reported.
The company now serves more than 390,000 merchants across Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman after securing a UAE payment-services license in January 2025. Following that regulatory approval, Paymob onboarded approximately 20,000 merchants in its three Gulf markets, Fintech Futures noted. This brings the company's total funding to about $125 million since its 2015 founding.
Building a Regional Payments Platform in 18 Months
Paymob has transformed from an Egypt-focused payments processor into a regional platform spanning four countries. Fintech Global reported that the company's CEO Islam Shawky said it had "morphed into a regional platform" during the previous 18 months. The company's growth reflects strong demand for payment infrastructure across the Gulf region, where revenue jumped sevenfold over the same period.
The platform integrates more than 60 payment methods through a single contract and dashboard. These include credit cards, local payment networks and buy-now-pay-later services. Merchants access online and offline payments alongside transaction-management tools through one system, The Condia stated.
Investors Back Move Into AI-Enabled Commerce Tools
Beyond basic payment processing, Paymob has built tools for merchant financial management. The company offers payment gateways, point-of-sale terminals, SoftPOS technology and payment links, according to TechBuild Africa. This broad toolkit positions Paymob to serve businesses at different stages of growth and sophistication.
The new $35 million round will fund development of products designed for agentic commerce—systems powered by AI that make buying decisions. Shawky said the funding would help "fast-track its roadmap to become a payments platform for agentic commerce." This represents a strategic shift beyond traditional merchant services into emerging commerce technologies.
A Decade of Growth From Student Founders to Regional Leader
Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy founded Paymob in Cairo in 2015 while still university students. They initially tackled a simple problem: Egyptian businesses struggled to accept online payments. TechBuild Africa reported that the founders identified this gap and built infrastructure to solve it.
The company has since raised $125 million across multiple rounds. A $50 million Series B in 2022 was followed by a $22 million Series B extension led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in 2024. The latest round includes participation from British International Investment, Global Ventures and DPI Ventures, Fintech Global noted.
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