barq Closes $329.5m Series A at $1.85bn Valuation
Saudi payments company barq has raised a $329.5m Series A from Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank and M20 Fund, valuing it at $1.85bn.
Saudi digital payments company barq has closed a $329.5m Series A funding round at a valuation of $1.85bn, taking it to unicorn status within two years of launch.
Noon Investments, Sohar International Bank and M20 Fund took part in the round, barq announced on 16 September.
The company says it has passed 15 million users within two years, drawn from more than 210 nationalities, and that the value of funds processed on its platform has exceeded SR440bn ($117.2bn). barq describes itself as one of the fastest companies in the region to reach unicorn status, and among the fastest globally in fintech.
The new capital will fund what barq calls its next phase of growth: improving operational efficiency, accelerating product and service development, investing in new financial and technology solutions, and expanding into new regional and international markets. The company has not yet said which markets it will enter first.
The announcement did not include comment from a named barq executive.
Sohar International Bank, one of the three named participants, is an Omani lender rather than a venture investor, giving an incumbent Gulf bank a direct stake in a fast-growing Saudi wallet and payments provider.
barq's announcement places the raise against the wider development of Saudi Arabia's fintech sector, which it attributes to progress in financial and digital infrastructure, a supportive regulatory environment, the targets of Saudi Vision 2030, and the Saudi Central Bank's efforts to advance digital payments and support innovation in financial services.
The user and transaction figures are barq's own and have not been independently verified. The company has not disclosed how the $329.5m splits between the three named investors, or whether other participants joined the round.
