Financial technology, digital payments, and banking innovation
Mastercard Gateway will process Tamatem Plus checkouts in more than 13 markets, starting with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Players can use cards, local methods and telecom wallets. No fee or volume was disclosed.
Phoenix Venture Partners backed COFE Tech in an undisclosed deal completed earlier in 2026. The firm says it bought existing shares. A $178 million valuation belongs to a later pre-IPO round, not to this purchase.
Beltone and Amtaar plan a property fund targeting EGP 2 billion, about $38 million, in several issues. The first is put at EGP 500 million to 700 million. Entry is EGP 1,000. The fund is not open, and no buildings were named.
MNT-Halan plans to sell 20 percent of its Egyptian arm on the EGX in October, 320 million shares, price still unset. Turkey, Pakistan and the UAE stay private. The sale is secondary. A June group valuation of $1.4 billion is not the offer price.
Qatar Development Bank lists up to $5.5 million for established startups expanding into Qatar, and up to $1.1 million for early teams. Cash is paid in milestone tranches. The program is not new. Portfolio totals in social posts are not on the official page.
SAMA approved a rise in Go Money’s capital from SAR 20 million to SAR 138 million. GO Telecom will inject SAR 100 million in cash and capitalise SAR 18 million already advanced. The parent keeps 100 percent. Articles still have to be amended.
Saudi platform Project Suppliers raised a $1 million pre-seed, SAR 3.75 million, from unnamed angels. It cites 12,000 suppliers and about 600,000 quote requests. The money is for AI cash-flow tools aimed at MEP payment delays. Valuation was not published.
Huspy acquired Italian intermediary Integra Finance and said it will invest $86 million in Italy. The purchase price was not disclosed. Integra has more than 160 advisers. Italy is Huspy’s fourth market after the UAE, Spain and Saudi Arabia.
CBE put financial inclusion at 79 percent by June 2026, 56.4 million adults with an active account. August rules opened eKYC on the Digital Financial Identity platform. Reserves hit $57.2 billion, with gold up and foreign currency down. AI is still a layer, not the licence.
Billions committed to compute and cloud, a wave of freshly funded fintech and AI startups, and new infrastructure on the way — September 2026 was a month of commitments. The next 12 months will be about proving deployment, customers and revenue.