Paymob’s Gulf shift, Huspy doubles down on Europe

Paymob’s regional shift and Huspy’s European push underscored a busy week for fintech and proptech dealmaking across MENA and beyond. Cairo-headquartered payments infrastructure provider Paymob raised $35 million in a pre-Series C round co‑led by Mubadala and the EBRD, with participation from British International Investment, Global Ventures and DPI Ventures, as the GCC now accounts for nearly half of the company’s revenue. Dubai-born proptech Huspy completed the acquisition of Italian credit intermediary Integra Finance, announcing plans to invest $86 million into Italy after expanding its loan-acquisition playbook across the UAE and Spain.

"SAMA says its involvement ended as planned," the central bank reportedly said as part of a separate development that saw Saudi Arabia exit the China-led mBridge cross‑border digital‑currency project after completing its proof of concept in May 2025.

Context and details

Paymob, which serves more than 390,000 merchants across MENA, now counts Mubadala and the EBRD among its backers as it prepares for further growth across Gulf markets. The $35 million pre‑Series C positions the Egyptian fintech to consolidate payments, merchant services and cross‑border flows in a region where its revenue mix is shifting significantly toward the GCC.

Huspy’s acquisition of Integra Finance extends a broader roll‑up strategy: Integra brings more than 160 advisers and partnerships with over 50 banking, financial and insurance institutions, enabling Huspy to deploy its mortgage brokerage and agent‑facing software on Italian soil. The deal follows last week’s purchase of Dubai luxury brokerage LuxuryX and marks Huspy’s fifth acquisition in credit intermediation. The company says it has raised approximately $200 million from investors including Sequoia, Balderton, Founders Fund, Fifth Wall and COTU; the purchase price for Integra was not disclosed.

• PhonePe received in‑principle approvals from the UAE central bank for two payment licences covering retail payment services and card schemes, and stored‑value facilities; the Indian fintech — which raised funding at a $12 billion valuation in 2023 and has raised more than $2 billion to date — plans to partner with regional banks and licensed payment providers for its UAE rollout.
• MASNA Ventures requested permission from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority to expand its defence‑tech fund from $100 million to $150 million as it accelerates investments in autonomous maritime systems.
• Saudi Arabia formally left the mBridge digital‑currency project after completing its proof of concept, a move reported alongside the BIS’s earlier departure in 2024.

Outlook

The flows of capital and assets point to two parallel dynamics: regional fintechs are doubling down on Gulf markets while MENA‑born platforms such as Huspy deploy capital and acquisitions to scale into European markets. Paymob’s new backers and the company’s revenue pivot toward the GCC suggest investors see durable opportunity in payments infrastructure servicing cross‑border and merchant needs. Meanwhile, Huspy’s €‑market push, powered by an $86 million commitment to Italy and a sizeable investor base, signals that aggregation and localisation of mortgage distribution remain viable expansion levers.

Regulatory developments will remain a critical variable: PhonePe’s in‑principle approvals still require final authorisation before commercial operations begin, and Saudi Arabia’s proposed tighter IPO rules and policy shifts — including exits from initiatives such as mBridge — underscore how changing public‑market and central‑bank priorities could reshape dealmaking and listings across the region.