UAE’s P2P Payment App Ziina Secures Seed Funding & Wins Place in Y Combinator Accelerator

UAE-headquartered fintech startup, Ziina, has announced that it has raised seed funding led by OTF Jasoor Ventures, with participation from Class 5 Global, Long Journey Ventures, Graph Ventures, Jabbar Internet Group, FJ Labs and Wamda.

The news is made all the sweeter by the fact that the announcement has coincided with the peer-to-peer payment app being chosen for Y Combinator’s winter 2021 accelerator, marking only the third time that a startup from the UAE has taken part. It’s an impressive flurry duo of achievements for any startup, let alone one that launched less than a year ago.

Founded by Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan and Andrew Gold, Ziina aims to simplify finance in a region that is adopting more and more fintech-friendly regulations. Currently offering users the chance to easily send and receive cash, there are big plans ahead for the coming few years. The founding team intends to expand its product to include other features, including simplified payments for freelancers and small businesses, while growing its team. Beyond this year, the startup will also look to expand into Saudi Arabia and Jordan by 2022.

As for Y-Combinator, well it needs no introduction. It's accelerator programmes have welcomed and supported the likes of Airbnb and Dropbox, and offer a fantastic opportunity for Ziina.

“The participation with Y Combinator is a game-changer for Ziina and we are thrilled that we have fallen into the very small bracket of companies who are accepted,” said co-founder, Faisal Toukan, who also serves as Ziina’s CEO. “We’re excited to tap into Y Combinator’s larger network, including its exceptional talent and investor pools. “One of our missions at Ziina is linking the best talent and resources of the UAE with those of Silicon Valley. We’ve seen the UAE take a highly proactive approach to support the fintech ecosystem and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”

Learn more about Ziina here.