Paymob
“Can a single payments infrastructure become the financial OS for SMEs across the under-banked MENA-P region?”
Founded2015
HQCairo, Egypt
FoundersIslam Shawky, Alain El Hajj, Mostafa Menessy
Total raised$90.5M+
Latest roundExtension, 2024 ($22M)
IndustryInfrastructure / Payments
The story
Founded 2015 as an e-commerce play, Paymob pivoted to fixing the underlying problem — Egypt's lack of online payment acceptance — and became the dominant payment gateway in MENA-P. The company has expanded from a card/wallet gateway into a full omnichannel infrastructure (online + POS + payouts + Paymob Sync cashless ecosystems), embedding installments from banks (QNB Egypt) and BNPL players (Tabby, Tamara) into checkout. Now positioning as 'the financial services enabler' for SMEs across Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Pakistan.
Product timeline
2015
Founded in Egypt by three American University in Cairo students· pivot
2021
Raised $18.5M Series A from A15, FMO, Global Ventures· funding
2022
$50M Series B led by PayPal Ventures and Kora Capital· funding
2024
Raised additional $22M; reported profitable in Egypt· funding
2026
Strategic alliance with QNB Egypt to embed bank installment plans into merchant checkout· lending
The stack
3 layers disclosed in Paymob’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Paymob (self-operated gateway)Paymob Unified Checkout (self-operated)Paymob POS (self-operated)Paymob Payment Links (self-operated)Paymob Subscriptions (self-operated)Paymob Marketplace (self-operated)
Lending
in the full report
Accounting
in the full report
Accounting gap: minor
20 more providers across 2 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.