Goldman Sachs Funds Saudi Fintech Tamara
Saudi fintech Tamara secured a funding source from US investment bank Goldman Sachs for up to $150 million.
Since its founding in September 2020, Tamara has received up to $366 million in total funding, including equity and debt. Six million people use the service in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
Tamara, which offers buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) products to customers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, will use the receivables storage facility provided by Goldman Sachs to help fund the product and expand into new industries.
“This deal is the first of its kind in the region and a testament to the company’s performance and the team’s ability to win the confidence of top-tier global financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs during a difficult global macroeconomic climate,” said Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Co-Founder and CEO of Tamara .
”We believe that Goldman Sachs, with its track record of working with similar companies on our stage globally, is the ideal financing partner for Tamara. It is critical for us to work with global and regional financial partners with strong balance sheets that have the capacity to provide increased funding to support our vision.”
Tamara acts as a trading opportunity for over 15,000 partner retailers who sell goods and services both online and in-store. Regional and global companies such as SHEIN, IKEA, Jarir, Noon and H&M, as well as local small and medium-sized enterprises, are among the partners.
Along with local SMEs, these partners include regional and international companies such as SHEIN, IKEA, Jarir, Noon and H&M.
In addition to larger basket sizes, higher conversion and lower returns, Tamara’s partners also gain access to customers with strong intentions through co-marketing.
Currently, over a third of Tamara’s customers start their purchase journey via the Tamara app, resulting in a noticeably higher return on ad spend for Tamara’s partner retailers.
Alsukhan adds, “Providing excellent products and services to our customers across shopping, payments and banking is at the core of Tamara. The team has demonstrated the ability to scale a complex B2B and B2C business model and BNPL is just an initial offering . We see a much deeper demand that we can fulfill with the same technology and customer-first approach.”
In addition to the global macroeconomic slowdown, the GCC, especially Saudi Arabia, continues to show significant growth. The fintech industry is rapidly developing and has recently attracted significant global investment.
With a high prevalence of cash on delivery in online shopping and a low credit card penetration rate compared to other markets, the region continues to expand.
The population is primarily aimed at youth, who make up more than 70% of the population and are extremely tech-savvy.
Tamara’s digital-first strategy focused on Millennials and Gen Z positions the company at the forefront of this transition.
