In June 2021, shortly after completing Y Combinator’s inaugural 12-month cohort, the startup launched its fintech app to a pool of 20,000 retail prospects, empowering users to send and receive money.
Three years on, the Dubai-founded startup has expanded significantly, boasting 50,000 retail and enterprise prospects, including micro, small and medium-sized businesses across the UAE. Its enhanced offerings have garnered $22 million in Collection A funding, courtesy of lead investor Altos Ventures.
Notwithstanding the global funding drought, this significant follow-on investment unequivocally demonstrates investors’ faith in the fintech company’s momentum – with a claimed 34% monthly surge in pipeline activity over the past year, and revenues skyrocketing tenfold during the same period.
The co-founder and CEO told TechCrunch that three key features make Ziina particularly captivating for traders: As a pioneer in the rapidly expanding Saudi-based entity landscape of the UAE, they excel at driving product-led innovation and have recently secured a coveted central bank license.
Increasing SME section
Ziina was initially conceived as a pioneering peer-to-peer (P2P) payment application designed specifically for sharing expenses among groups of people, mirroring the functionality of traditional split-bill apps for ride-sharing or carpooling purposes. While the app experienced significant adoption among retailers in the UAE, a subset of users, including company owners, also utilised the digital wallets for both sending and receiving payments, as per Toukan’s account.
Ziina’s platform evolved to comprise two distinct segments: Ziina Private, designed specifically for dividing payments among collaborators; and Ziina Enterprise, focused on pooling funds for collective endeavors. The platform’s core functionality enables users to send fee-based links and earn commissions through various payment gateways, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Mastercard, and Visa.
As company demands surged, Ziina responded by expanding its offerings to include an integrated payment gateway (checkout) seamlessly compatible with popular e-commerce platforms such as WooCommerce and Shopify for online transactions, point-of-sale (POS) capabilities for in-person payments facilitated by QR codes, and social media-based payment options. With this enhancement, Ziina now enables businesses to track buyer information and interactions through its integrated CRM features.
The YC-backed startup persists in offering its peer-to-peer service, although it’s increasingly evident that the majority of its product development efforts are now concentrated on serving small businesses. The startup focuses on a largely untapped market of approximately 560,000 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United Arab Emirates, comprising an impressive 94% of all businesses operating within the country, with these entities collectively contributing around 60% towards the nation’s gross domestic product. By 2023, a staggering 77% of United Arab Emirates-based small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have leveraged digital payment systems, driving an unprecedented surge in demand for innovative financial management tools.
“We’ve evolved into an all-encompassing platform in the UAE, transforming from a sole consumer app to a comprehensive ecosystem connecting consumers and businesses under one umbrella, allowing seamless transactions and financial settlements.” As consumers pay for products and services, companies compensate them, subsequently building that community’s cumulative impact across two distinct consumer segments. One significant distinction lies in our product approach and corporate strategy. So predominantly, everything should reside within one ecosystem where people possess a financially reliable partner.
Product-led progress
Ziina claims to alleviate three key pain points for small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the financial services sector: ensuring accessibility, providing transparent pricing, and delivering an exceptional user experience.
SMEs can leverage fintech platforms to effortlessly open bank accounts and set up fee processors within mere minutes, streamlining a process that would otherwise take weeks to complete.
Ziina offers straightforward pricing without any surprises, comprising a flat rate of 2.6% plus 1 AED (approximately $0.25 USD) per transaction facilitated through fee links or POS systems, and a competitive rate of 0.9% plus 1 AED for transactions processed via gateways.
Prospects also possess a comprehensive dashboard allowing them to track and reconcile online and offline transactions, including fees and other financial links in a seamless manner.
Ziina’s rapid growth over the past year has enabled it to serve a thriving community of 50,000 dynamic customers, comprising both retail and business clients; its business clientele span styles, gaming, travel, and tourism. Toukhan reveals to TechCrunch that the startup currently handles around $280 every 60 seconds and is poised to process approximately $300 million annually, a significant increase from the $150 million recorded last year.
Ziina’s growth has largely stemmed from product-led initiatives without the support of a dedicated sales team. According to the CEO, a significant 55% of new business opportunities have emerged naturally, while the balance has resulted from effective B2B networking and referral relationships.
Notwithstanding its ongoing growth and ability to offer additional financial services leveraging the banking license it has secured, this may likely undergo a transformation. The corporation is onboarded to hire its first gross sales employees, including several from Revolut.
Ziina boasts being the sole venture-backed startup to hold a Saved Worth Facility (SVF) licence issued by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates. This allows fintech companies to offer additional financial services, apart from lending, which necessitates a distinct licensing arrangement, and generate revenue through float management, such as retaining assets on the platform.
Ziina, having launched its ZiiCard product, is poised to gain a competitive advantage in the market due to its unique license and merchandise ecosystem, allowing it to differentiate itself from other regional fintechs offering similar financial services. Mamo, a fintech company, exemplifies its offerings by providing POS terminals. Additionally, it is expanding its financial options beyond buy now, pay later initiatives. Furthermore, Mamo introduces person-to-person payment solutions, solidifying its presence in the expense management industry.
Despite the presence of competitors, the CEO, who co-founded the fintech with and, believes there is substantial market potential for Ziina within the rapidly expanding digital payments space serving consumers and businesses across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
“The Middle East seems to be experiencing a noticeable upswing in economic growth, with a significant emphasis on GDP advancements.” The UAE has probably been a trailblazer in this regard, noted the CEO. “If Ziina’s team consistently delivers high-quality work with enthusiasm, we’re poised to support over 200,000 monthly active businesses on our platform within four years, driven by the UAE’s growing SME landscape.” When examining gaming platforms such as Nubank in Brazil, we notice that they successfully achieve market penetration rates ranging from 10 to 20%. We aim to revolutionize the financial landscape in our region by emulating the innovative spirit of Nubank.
The collection also featured participation from Activant Capital, Avenir Progress, Fintech Collective, FJ Labs, Jabba Web Group, Middle East Enterprise Partners, and Y Combinator. The Ziina platform has successfully scaled its operations, propelling the entire enterprise to exceed $30 million in valuation since its founding in 2020.
