As first reported by Reuters, YAP, a digital bank based in UAE, raised $41 million in funding and is now targeting raising $20 million to fund its expansion. According to LinkedIn Insights, the company currently has 32 employees.
So far, investors include:
- Saudi Arabia’s Aljazira Capital
- Abu Dawood Group
- Astra Group
- Audacia Capital.
The digital bank intends to complete its Series A by the end of the year, YAP will use the funds to expand the business into Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, and Ghana. In Pakistan, the digital bank will compete with players such as NayaPay and SadaPay to mention a few competitors. CEO Hachem said YAP would target serving the significant remittance market of Pakistani workers employed in the Gulf who send billions of dollars to home each year.
The digital bank plans to launch by the end of the year in Pakistan and Ghana, where its services are at present being piloted, and next year in Egypt, the most populous Arab nation.
“We just got the EMI (electronic money institutions) license in Pakistan and PSP (payment service provider) in Ghana, same thing in Saudi Arabia. Together with the bank, we are going to apply to the central bank,” Hachem said in an interview with Reuters.
Launching in 2021, the digital bank has partnered with the Emirati lender RAK Bank in UAE, and in Saudia Arabia, the digital bank has partnered with Bank Al Jazira where it will soft launch in October.
