Sarwa
“Can a regional robo-advisor become the default wealth and savings platform for the MENA mass affluent?”
Founded2017
HQAbu Dhabi, UAE (Hub71, ADGM)
FoundersMark Chahwan, Jad Sayegh
Total raised~$25M+
Latest roundSeries B, $15M (2021)
IndustryFintech / Investment
The story
Sarwa launched in 2017 as the first robo-advisor in MENA, operating under DFSA's Innovation Testing License sandbox before moving to ADGM/FSRA. The product expanded from purely auto-investing into a multi-product platform: self-directed trading (Sarwa Trade), crypto (Sarwa Crypto) and a cash account (Sarwa Save). The underlying execution and custody is provided by Saxo Bank for invest/trade and Alpaca for US securities (including a fully-paid securities lending program). Funding flows have shifted from card and wire to open-banking-powered bank transfers via Lean Technologies.
Last 12 months
—
Product timeline
0
Partnered with Lean Technologies for open banking funding (Payments API)· pivot
2017
Launched as first robo-advisor in the Middle East under DFSA Innovation Testing License· banking
2018
Integrated Onfido for 100% digital account opening — first in UAE wealth space· pivot
2020
Raised $8.4M Series A led by KIPCO· ipo
2021
Raised $15M Series B led by Mubadala· ipo
2022
Launched Sarwa Trade (self-directed brokerage) and Sarwa Crypto· pivot
2023
Launched Sarwa Save cash account at 3% APY· banking
Regulated entities
2
regulatory licences held by Sarwa
Licence types, jurisdictions and registered entities are in the Embedded Finance Index report.
The stack
5 layers disclosed in Sarwa’s embedded-finance stack
Payments / PSP
Sarwa debit/credit card funding (self-operated checkout)
Banking / BaaS
in the full report
Lending
in the full report
Open banking
in the full report
FX & payouts
in the full report
Accounting gap: none
5 more providers across 4 layers, with confidence-scored evidence and source URLs, are in the Embedded Finance Index report.