
Fintech specialist BKN301 closes $23.8mln Series B round to finance global growth
Operating break-even achieved, with 236% YoY gross margin growth.
Company doubles down on MENA opportunity following excellent regional results – reaching 18 million customers daily in Egypt alone, with ambitious growth plans in Europe to follow.
UAE: BKN301 Group, a global fintech specialising in Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS), with key operations in MENA, has successfully closed a USD23.8 million capital increase. This will support the Group's global growth, including exploring expansion into the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as enhancing the firm's proprietary BaaS Orchestrator platform.
BKN301 operates in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, helping traditional banks, fintechs and digital banks integrate innovative, secure and scalable solutions to aid with rapid expansion and diversification. The BaaS Orchestrator platform offers core banking, payment processing, digital wallets, card issuing, API decoupling, cross-border services, open banking, AI and Gen AI, for integration with third-party systems.
Alongside the support of existing investors, the Series B round attracted new institutional, industrial and private investors, including: CDP Venture Capital SGR (through the Digital Transition Fund), Azimut Libera Impresa SGR through the Azimut Digitech Fund under the advisory of FNDX, SIMEST (through the F.394/81 managed on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation), Alisei Forinvestments di Aldo Fumagalli and other investors. These are in addition to the investors of the previous rounds, including SM Capital, Prosus Group, CRIF, Abalone Group, Federico Ghizzoni and Fabio Nalucci.
BKN301, after having rapidly validated its model in high-growth markets such as Africa and the Middle East - where it was chosen by major operators, reaching 18 million customers daily in Egypt alone - is now increasing its presence in Europe as well, where it is starting a new phase of growth as a global operator. An evolution starting from Italy where the Group has entered a partnership with the neobank HYPE with the integration of the BKN301 Baas Orchestrator solution into its application landscape.
BKN301 has reached operational break-even, with 2024 gross revenues of €18.4 million, up 51% YoY, and growth of 236% YoY in terms of net revenues. Since its market entry in 2021, the company has achieved 187% overall growth.
Stiven Muccioli, Co-Founder and CEO of BKN301 Group, commentated: "The entry of new major investors, alongside the continued support of those who have already believed in our transformative approach, is a powerful endorsement of the strength and scalability of our model. Closing a Series B round in today's market is a significant achievement and marks the beginning of a new phase of growth. Our goal remains clear: to bring a truly efficient, scalable and innovative BaaS model to global markets. With the new industrial plan, we estimate a CAGR of 36% of EBITDA by 2028 and we aim to bring innovative payment and financial services, usable in a simple and fluid way, to an ever-increasing number of operators and their customers."
Enrico Filì, Head of the Digital Transition Fund at CDP Venture Capital added: "BKN301 represents excellence recognized by customers and partners globally, an international operator that is effectively contributing to innovation in Fintech. CDP Venture Capital is consistently committed to enhancing companies that promote innovation and create value in their respective fields. We have great confidence in the project and in the work of the BKN301 team and we are determined to support it in achieving the ambitious goals set."
1 Banking-as-a-Service Market to Reach $60 billion, Globally, by 2033 at 17% CAGR: Allied Market Research
About BKN301
BKN301 Group is a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider with offices in London, Milan, San Marino and Doha that supports the financial sector with the innovative BKN301 BaaS Orchestrator platform. The solution offers core banking, payment processing, digital wallets, card issuing, API decoupling, cross-border services, open banking, AI and Gen AI, ensuring seamless integration with third-party systems.
Thanks to a scalable and innovative model, BKN301 helps traditional banks, fintechs, and digital banks – including blockchain banking and token platforms – to integrate secure and scalable solutions, accelerating growth and expansion into new markets.
BKN301 has established itself as a reference player in the evolution of global financial markets.
For more information: www.bkn301.com
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Tariffs could be the spur Europe's single market needs
Philip Blenkinsop, Reuters To bring electronic scrap and other waste from across the European Union to its Belgian recycling plant, materials group Umicore can spend at least a month tackling a complex array of national shipment rules. The problem is not just Umicore's as businesses across Europe grapple with internal obstacles that can be as damaging as tariffs. Analysts, however, say US President Donald Trump's tariffs have provided the necessary push to make the bloc the single market it aspires to be. Umicore's difficulties are particularly significant in that the company recycles 17 of the 34 minerals identified by the EU as critical for its green and digital transition. Chief Executive Bart Sap says a shipment may need to go by rail in one country, then transfer to a boat in another with a wealth of diverse documentation along the route. "With that ununified waste market, the internal hurdles are so high that actually 73% of waste is being exported," he told Reuters in an interview. Diverging waste shipment regulation is one of the many internal barriers that add cost and complexity to doing business within the EU. The International Monetary Fund has estimated EU internal barriers are the equivalent of tariffs of 44% for goods and 110% for services, well above the US tariffs of 25% on steel and cars and 10% on many other goods. A similar study in 2021 concluded barriers for goods flow within the United States amounted to a 13% tariff. For goods, EU barriers include restrictions on retailers' ability to source products or sell them in other EU countries and a jumble of rules on labelling. AkzoNobel, Europe's largest paint maker, complains it cannot just sell the same tub across the 27-nation bloc, placing the blame not on different languages but varying rules. These include separate recycling logos in France and Spain and some EU countries requiring air quality information. The Dutch company says it cannot fit all the necessary information on smaller tubs, and that frequent rule changes force it to keep investing on packaging updates. QR codes could be a solution, it says, something the European Union will start requiring from 2027. For services, the single market is even less developed. Laws on setting up foreign subsidiaries diverge, declarations for posting workers abroad vary and 5,700 professions are regulated across the bloc, meaning doctors, nurses, engineers or accountants in one EU country cannot easily work in another. The barriers do not just add cost and complexity. They stifle growth. Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, who produced an influential report on the EU single market last year, said EU companies suffered a "stunning size deficit" relative to rivals and that market divisions prevented them building scale. A core problem is vested interest in sectors protecting regulated professions from competition, and as national supervisors prove resistant to an EU-wide capital market that could rival US investments in newer companies and infrastructure. "These are low-hanging fruit economically, because basically they're free. It's essentially changing regulation. But that doesn't mean they're necessarily politically easy," said Niclas Poitiers, research fellow at think tank Bruegel. Debate on a unified capital market has dragged on for more than a decade as EU members have squabbled over issues such as supervision and insolvency rules. However, a deeper single market has gone from a nice to have to a must have as the impact of Trump's tariffs on exports has highlighted the need to remove obstacles to compete with global rivals. The Commission says it is prioritising removing what it calls the "terrible ten" most harmful single market barriers, including recognition of professional qualifications and fragmented rules on labelling and waste. Letta, dean of IE university in Spain and president of the Jacques Delors Institute think tank, said he was encouraged by Commission initiatives to tackle the most critical unfulfilled parts of the single market — services and capital. They include promotion of a savings and investment union and removing barriers to business in services, Multiple legislative proposals are due in 2025 and 2026. Aslak Berg, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said the Commission seemed to be serious about reforms that made a difference, but needed to get EU members on board. Letta said there were though two grounds for optimism. Firstly, EU capitals were aware of the need for change. "The other key point that makes me optimistic is the fact that we have a fantastic friend on the other side of the of ocean, because the acceleration that is taking place is all because of Trump," he said. Letta said the EU needed to push through EU-wide laws called regulations, rather than directives that allow EU members to set their own course on common goals. He also urged the EU to be energised not paralysed by Trump. The EU took a pause after driving through movement of goods and people and its new currency in the late 1980s and 1990s, but then got sidelined by a series of crises, from the sovereign debt crisis, Brexit, COVID-19 and the energy crisis. "The European Union usually is able to focus to one crisis at a time, and today we are all focused on tariffs. That is a problem. Because in reality, my guess is the completion of the single market is more important than all the rest."


Al Etihad
a day ago
- Al Etihad
Eurostar to launch new routes to Germany and Switzerland
10 June 2025 14:17 London (AFP) Eurostar said on Tuesday it would launch new direct train routes from London to Frankfurt and Geneva, as potential competitors threaten to break its three-decade monopoly on cross-channel rail new direct routes would open from the early 2030s, in addition to new services from Amsterdam and Brussels to Geneva, the international rail company at the back of positive year-end results, Eurostar said in a statement that it would invest two billion euros (£1.6 billion) in the new services to major European cities and 50 new trains, bringing its total fleet to 67 announcement comes amid "continued demand for international rail travel across Europe", according to Eurostar, which currently operates in the UK, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and it currently has connecting services to Cologne, the new routes will directly serve the German financial capital and global diplomatic hub Geneva."Our new fleet will make new destinations for customers a reality -- notably direct trains between London and Germany, and between London and Switzerland for the first time. A new golden age of international sustainable travel is here," said Eurostar CEO Gwendoline to the rail company, passenger numbers rose to over 19.5 million in 2024, marking a five percent increase from the previous year. It has a target of ferrying 30 million passengers Eurostar Group merges operations of Eurostar which operates in the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France, and Thalys, which runs high-speed rail services from Paris to Amsterdam and German also said it would increase daily services between London, Rotterdam and Amsterdam starting later this year."I am pleased to welcome this exciting investment into Eurostar services, which is a huge step in promoting green travel across Europe and boosting our international rail connections," UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander announcements come as Eurostar's three-decade monopoly in the Channel Tunnel looks likely to this year, Britain's Office of Rail and Road opened access to a maintenance depot along the Paris-London route to other firms, removing a hurdle to competitors offering services. Italian railway operator Trenitalia and British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group have since signalled plans to open their own services on the cross-Channel line.


Sharjah 24
a day ago
- Sharjah 24
Sharjah debuts at Readmagine 2025
During the international event, SBA participated in a session titled "Empowering Emirati publishers through the Sharjah Publishing Sustainability Fund (Onshur)", featuring Iman Ben Chaibah, Director of strategic initiatives and global markets at SBA, alongside Shatha Nasser, founder of Kairos Publishing House and one of the winners in the fund's inaugural launch track. Onshur draws global interest as a blueprint for sustainability In the session, Iman Ben Chaibah reaffirmed Sharjah's commitment to shaping a sustainable and resilient future for the publishing industry in the UAE and the wider region. She introduced Onshur as a strategic initiative designed to empower publishers through three integrated tracks: launch, scale and disrupt. 'The fund was established to address a fundamental challenge: how to ensure the continued strength and growth of the publishing sector over the long term. It responds to this need by offering a well-rounded framework of training, financial backing and professional mentorship, equipping publishers to tackle industry demands and grow their businesses with assurance and skill.' She went on to credit the vision of Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi, Chairperson of SBA, for shaping the fund's comprehensive framework. 'Onshur offers a fully integrated support system that combines professional guidance, targeted training and access to a network of industry partners and specialists. It also provides practical resources such as trade licences, co-working spaces, affordable printing services and translation support. We were encouraged by the strong international interest in the Onshur model during the event, and we have already scheduled several follow-up meetings to explore potential areas of collaboration.' Publishing with purpose For her part, Shatha Nasser shared her journey into publishing, explaining that a simple search for a Spanish novel to recommend to a young Arab reader highlighted a broader cultural gap. Many important literary works had yet to be translated into Arabic. She discovered that many significant literary works remained inaccessible in Arabic. This realisation became the driving force behind the launch of Kairos, a publishing initiative committed to translating classic literature from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese into Arabic, to broaden access to global literary heritage and enrich the region's cultural landscape. She went on to highlight the pivotal role that Onshur played in shaping her professional journey. 'The fund provided a comprehensive foundation of mentorship, expertise and industry connections that enabled my entry into the publishing sector. It offered practical knowledge across all stages of book production, from acquiring publishing rights to distribution. With the support of a grant, I was able to establish the publishing house and release titles. It was the true starting point for a locally rooted publishing house with an international outlook.' Sharjah's Onshur sparks global dialogue The session attracted one of the highest levels of engagement at Readmagine 2025, sparking in-depth discussions around the structure of the Onshur Fund and the potential for replicating its model in other markets. Participants praised the leadership of Sheikha Bodour Al Qasimi and expressed their appreciation for this forward-thinking initiative, describing it as a compelling example of how to support publishers and promote long-term sustainability in the book industry. Many also voiced their hope that cultural institutions in other countries would consider adopting similar frameworks, recognising the fund's proven success in empowering publishers and fostering a dynamic, innovation-driven publishing environment.