Barq and Tabby lead a busy day for Gulf fintech

Saudi and Gulf fintech had a crowded day of announcements. The two biggest deals came from very different companies: Barq, a digital payments and transfers app, raised 329.5 million dollars in a Series A at a 1.85 billion dollar valuation, while Tabby raised 233 million dollars at a 6.5 billion dollar valuation as it expands from buy now, pay later into credit and money-management products. Elsewhere, Tarabut secured 50 million dollars for its effort to let non-bank apps offer financial services, BRKZ raised 31 million dollars around construction purchasing, and Foodics introduced an AI-powered financing tool for restaurants. Together, the announcements span consumer payments, credit, embedded financial services and tools for business operators. They show a varied set of fintech models being funded or launching new products, but fundraising alone cannot show which will scale.