Mubadala and EBRD Co-Lead $35m Pre-Series C in Paymob as GCC Nears Half of Revenue
Paymob has raised $35m in a pre-Series C round co-led by Mubadala and the EBRD, after GCC revenues grew sevenfold in 18 months.
Egypt-founded payments infrastructure provider Paymob has raised $35m in a pre-Series C round co-led by Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala Investment Company and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), on the back of rapid growth in the Gulf.
According to Mubadala's announcement of 21 September, consolidated revenues rose threefold over the past 18 months across Paymob's four markets, while GCC revenues grew sevenfold. Close to half of total revenue now comes from GCC markets.
Since securing its Retail Payment Services Licence from the Central Bank of the UAE in January 2025, Paymob has onboarded roughly 20,000 merchants across its three GCC markets of the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. It was first licensed by the Central Bank of Egypt, and says its omnichannel gateway gives more than 390,000 merchants access to 60+ payment methods through a single contract, API and dashboard.
The funding will go towards scaling the core payments acceptance business and introducing new products for SME merchants and for agentic commerce.
"Paymob morphed into a regional platform over the past 18 months, propelled by the exponential growth of our GCC business," said Islam Shawky, co-founder and chief executive of Paymob. "This Pre-Series C funding round will help us accelerate our growth plan across the MENA region and fast-track our product roadmap to become the go-to payments platform for agentic commerce."
Ali Eid Al Mheiri, executive director, UAE Diversified Assets, at Mubadala's UAE Investments Platform, said: "Paymob's expansion in the UAE aligns closely with our ambition under our MENA Venture Capital Fund, to support companies that strengthen the country's digital economy and reinforce its position as a leading regional fintech hub."
He added: "With a scalable payments platform and strong growth potential across the GCC, Paymob is well positioned to support merchants, advance financial inclusion and contribute to economic diversification."
Paymob's existing investor base includes PayPal Ventures, Kora Capital, Clay Point Capital, FMO, A15, British International Investment, Helios Digital Ventures, Global Ventures and DPI Ventures. The company was founded in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy.
