Egyptian fintech startup Paymob has raised $35 million in a pre-Series C funding round as it seeks to expand its digital payments infrastructure and introduce new financial products across the Middle East and North Africa.
The funding round was co-led by Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign investor, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
British International Investment, Global Ventures and DPI Ventures also participated in the round.
Paymob said the new capital will be used to scale its core payment acceptance business, expand its product offering for small and medium-sized enterprises and develop solutions for emerging agentic commerce.
Founded in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj and Mostafa Menessy, Paymob provides payment infrastructure that enables businesses and digital financial service providers to accept and process payments through multiple channels.
Its omnichannel payment gateway supports more than 60 payment methods and serves nearly 350,000 merchants, according to the company.
Paymob has expanded beyond its Egyptian home market into the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman, as it seeks to build a broader regional payments network.
The company said its Gulf operations have been a major driver of its growth, particularly over the past 18 months.
Paymob has onboarded about 20,000 merchants across its three Gulf markets since obtaining a Retail Payment Services Licence from the Central Bank of the UAE in January 2025.
The licence allowed the company to expand its regulated payment services in the UAE, one of the region’s major financial and technology hubs.
The latest funding will also support Paymob’s development of products aimed at SMEs, which form a significant part of the merchant base across the region.
The company is also targeting agentic commerce, an emerging area in which software-based agents can assist users with tasks such as discovering products, making purchasing decisions and completing transactions.
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Paymob Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, Islam Shawky, said the company had evolved into a regional platform as its Gulf business expanded.
“Paymob morphed into a regional platform over the past 18 months, propelled by the exponential growth of our GCC business,” Shawky said.
He said the new investment would help the company accelerate its regional growth strategy and product development.
“We are very excited about Mubadala joining our cap table and grateful for the continued support of our existing shareholders,” he added.
Paymob previously raised $72 million in an extended Series B funding round in September 2024, bringing its total external funding to a significant level as it continues to scale across MENA.
The latest investment also brings Mubadala onto Paymob’s shareholder base, alongside its existing institutional investors.
The company said its focus remains on expanding digital payment acceptance while developing additional financial technology products for merchants and businesses across the region.
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Cecilia Attah is a tech analyst with a degree from Benue State University. She covers tech news and startups at TechRegard with a focus on how technology is transforming Africa and shaping the global landscape.
