Payments firms in the region are raking in venture funding.
Dubai-based restaurant payments startup Qlub secured $30 million from investors including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala. The company has now raised a total of $72 million, with backers such as investment firm Shorooq, Berlin-based Cherry Ventures, UAE telecom e&, and China-based Legend Capital among its investors, Bloomberg reported. Startups in the Middle East raised $1.35 billion in the first six months of 2025 — nearly double last year’s tally — with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the region, data analytics firm Magnitt said.