NOW Money has closed its bridge funding round with a total of US$1.46m.
In addition to the recent US Venture Capital investment, mentioned in a previous press release, this funding round includes $700,000 from Dubai-based Venture Capital firm, Myrisoph Capital. Other contributions have come from private investors and MENA-based women’s investor network WAIN.
Myrisoph Capital focuses on investments into SMEs that want expert advice and mentorship to take their business to the next level. It invests specifically within the team’s core skill-set and expertise, and in territories they know well, ensuring they can provide the best support possible.
WAIN is the first investor network for women in the MENA region. Its goal is to build an informed ecosystem of women investors who support women entrepreneurs in the Arab world.
Co-founder of NOW Money, Ian Dillon said, “we’ve been working with Myrisoph since the beginning of 2017, and what struck us about the company was their extensive knowledge and understanding of the Gulf region and their unparalleled expertise and connections within financial services here.
“We’re incredibly enthusiastic about this new partnership and believe the collective experience of the team at Myrisoph will add a lot of value to the business.
“The positive contributions we are seeing from Myrisoph, WAIN and the private investors – in addition to those from Accion and Newid Capital – are fantastic and are already adding real value to NOW Money’s business. We’re thrilled to be closing this round with so much support and belief in the company.”
Managing Partner of Myrisoph Capital, Hassan Alhassani said, “we’ve been looking at partnering with an impact player within the FinTech space in the GCC for a while now, and we believe NOW Money is that partner. We were impressed by the business model as well as the social implications in the region. We were also struck by the passion and capabilities of the founders Katharine and Ian, and we are proud to be a part of the NOW Money future.”
Heather Henyon, Founder & Director of WAIN, added, “we are proud to invest in this local FinTech start-up, which has a female co-founder, as we believe the potential for the $100 billion remittances Gulf market is massive. We love the dynamism of the team and are impressed by their track-record, commitment, and tenacity. We look forward to NOW Money’s continued growth and scale across the region, especially with its strong international investor backing, a testament to the company’s strength.”
NOW Money is paving the way for the FinTech ecosystem in the GCC. Already an active participant of Abu Dhabi Global Market’s (ADGM) Regulatory Sandbox, they have recently been accepted as one of the first two entrants into the Central Bank of Bahrain’s (CBB) Regulatory Sandbox. The company hopes that these recent milestones, and their latest round of funding, will help lay the foundations for a successful FinTech ecosystem in the GCC and provide confidence for more early stage investments into FinTech companies in the region.
