Stitch Raises $10M to Improve Financial Infrastructure in MENA
Stitch, a Saudi Arabia-based platform for launching and scaling financial products, has announced the close of a US$10 million seed funding round.
The round was led by Arbor Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures, and SVC, with participation from family offices and industry figures including Marqeta founder Jason Gardner and Abdulmalik AlSheikh, known for his role in establishing the mada and Sadad payment networks in Saudi Arabia.
The funding will support Stitch's efforts to expand its team and enhance its technology platform, which aims to simplify the development and launch of financial services.
Demand for integrated financial infrastructure is increasing across both the Middle East and global markets.
The global banking and financial services industry is projected to grow from US$91.42 billion in 2024 to US$221.39 billion by 2033, at a compound annual growth rate of 10.3 percent.
In Saudi Arabia, banking sector assets have reached US$1.12 trillion (SAR 4.22 trillion), while digital payments grew by 75 percent between 2019 and 2021.
Point-of-sale transactions in the country totalled US$177.69 billion (SAR 667 billion) in the 2024 financial year.
Despite this growth, many businesses in the region continue to face challenges in building financial products due to outdated systems and complex regulations.
Stitch aims to address this with a unified, API-driven platform. Currently serving clients in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the company has also expanded into East Africa, beginning with Kenya.
Mohamed Oueida, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Stitch, said:
'Businesses are forced to navigate outdated legacy systems and complex regulatory frameworks, making things slow, expensive, and mostly painful. It does not have to be this way. Stitch exists to change this. Institutions should be able to focus on what matters and have a platform that can mould around their creativity. We are generally looking to make this process a lot more enjoyable for our partners.'
Stitch's platform enables clients to develop and launch financial services more efficiently, with the company claiming product deployment times can be reduced by up to 80 percent.
Clients include Lulu Exchange, Alamoudi Exchange, Foodics, Dar Al Tamleek, Raya Financing, and Tanmeya Capital, all of whom are using the platform to offer customised financial solutions.
Founded in 2022, Stitch has brought together talent from institutions such as FIS, Geidea, Rain Financial, NPCI India, and Al Rajhi Bank, with a focus on long-term innovation in banking and payments.
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