Alok Kumar and Nuha Hashem founded Zywa in 2021. Credit: Rob Hampson on Unsplash.

UAE-based fintech startup Zywa has raised $3m in seed funding to offer banking services to Gen Z customers in the Middle East and North Africa.

The round was joined by Goodwater Capital, Dubai Future District Fund, Rebel Fund, Trampoline VC, and Zemu VC along with some affluent European family offices and angel investors.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Zywa’s seed round, which values it at over AED110m ($30m), comes close on the heels of its pre-seed round of $1m led by Y Combinator in February this year.

The proceeds will be used to create more products to meet the need of Gen Z customers and its expansion in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.  

The fintech is part of Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem Hub71 and offers a gamified community-based banking app and payment cards to customers aged between 11 and 25 years.

Zywa, which was founded in 2021, claims to have received more than 100,000 signups.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Zywa co-founder and CTO Nuha Hashem was quoted by Khaleej Times as saying: “The seed round will help us create more product initiatives to give the best possible experience to our Gen Z users while building their financial literacy. We want them to experience banking in a cool way that sets a high standard for them in the future.

“This funding will also help us tailor the product to a new audience in my home country (Egypt) and the country where I grew up (Saudi Arabia). We are proud to have a product that is localised to the MENA region and that Gen Z can resonate with.”

“We are excited to back Zywa as we believe financial education needs to be revolutionised for teens in this changing economy. Giving exposure to kids early on about saving and personal finance fundamentals and done in an engaging way sets up the next generation for success,” Square Financial Services COO Samanth Ku and one of the angel investors who joined the round was quoted by the publication as saying.