shopping

Tamara, Saudi Arabia’s Shopping and BNPL Platform, Achieves $1B Valuation in $340M Series C Funding Round

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Tamara, a buy now pay later platform for consumers in Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region, has raised $340 million in a financing C round that values the fintech at $1 billion. Both startups, albeit competitors, highlight the surging growth in BNPL usage, particularly in Saudi Arabia, the market that makes up more than 80% of Tamara and Tabby’s customer base. “Saudi Arabia and the GCC deserves its place on the world stage for financial technology. Before launching Tamara, Alsukhan co-founded Nana, a digital grocery shopping platform where he was the chief financial officer for three years. Tamara is also allocating part of the investment to introduce new products and services beyond BNPL and capitalizing on opportunities in shopping and financial services across Saudi Arabia and the GCC.

Maka: Simplifying Fashion and Beauty Shopping in Africa – Social Commerce Platform Secures $2.65M Funding

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Maka, an African fashion and beauty e-commerce platform, has raised a $2.65 million pre-seed round led by Pan-African venture capital firms 4DX Ventures and Janngo Capital. She said launching Maka began during the pandemic when she was in Ghana and struggled to find inclusive fashion inspiration. To address the trust element, Maka leverages videos as a means to connect users with trusted creators. Notably, the platform offers a review option, allowing customers who make purchases to share their feedback through video reviews, usually between 30 and 60 seconds long. Furthermore, creators can download their reviews from Maka and share them on other social media platforms, earning additional points for each share.