Egyptian payments company Paymob has raised $35 million in a pre-Series C funding round co-led by Abu Dhabi sovereign investor Mubadala and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). British International Investment, Global Ventures, and DPI Ventures also participated in the round.
The new funding brings Paymob’s total disclosed financing to more than $125 million and adds Mubadala to a shareholder base that already includes PayPal Ventures, Kora Capital, Clay Point, FMO, A15, and Global Ventures. The capital will be used to expand across MENA and develop new products for small businesses, including tools aimed at AI-powered commerce.
The raise comes as Paymob’s revenue mix undergoes a significant shift. Consolidated revenue has tripled over the past 18 months, while GCC revenue has grown sevenfold over the same period and now accounts for close to half of the group total — a marked change from 2024, when Egypt was still described as the company’s profitable core market.
Founded in Cairo in 2015 by Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj, and Mostafa Menessy, Paymob has since expanded into the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. Its GCC growth accelerated after entering the UAE in 2023 and obtaining a Retail Payment Services licence from the Central Bank of the UAE in January 2025. The company now serves more than 390,000 merchants across MENA, offering access to more than 60 payment methods through a single integration.
Mubadala is investing through its MENA Venture Capital Fund, citing Paymob’s UAE business and broader GCC growth as key rationale for the investment. The company also said it wants its payments infrastructure to support “agentic commerce,” where AI agents can discover products and initiate purchases on behalf of consumers.
