FinTech Stitch closes $10m seed to transform banking infra in MEA

By Gloria Methri

Saudi-based FinTech infrastructure provider Stitch has completed a $10 million seed funding round to accelerate its mission of simplifying the development of banking and payments products across the Middle East and Africa.

The round saw participation from prominent investors, including Arbour Ventures, COTU Ventures, Raed Ventures, and Saudi Venture Capital (SVC), as well as several family offices and FinTech leaders. Notably, Jason Gardner, founder of Marqeta, and Abdulmalik AlSheikh, known for his role in establishing Saudi Arabia’s mada and Sadad payment networks, also backed the company.

As financial services across the region undergo digital transformation, the need for agile and unified infrastructure is becoming increasingly critical. In Saudi Arabia, banking assets reached $1.12 trillion (SAR 4.22 trillion) in 2024, while digital payments have grown by 75% between 2019 and 2021. Point-of-sale (POS) transactions have also risen sharply, totalling $177.69 billion (SAR 667 billion) in FY 2024.

In response to these demands, Stitch is providing a unified, API-based platform that enables financial and non-financial institutions to launch and scale products with reduced complexity. Initially launched in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the company has begun expanding into East Africa, with Kenya marking its first market entry beyond the Gulf.

“At Stitch, our vision is to reinvent how financial and non-financial institutions bring banking and payment products to market,” said Mohamed Oueida, Founder and CEO. “Today, the process of building financial products is broken. Businesses are often forced to navigate outdated legacy systems and complex regulatory frameworks, resulting in slow, expensive, and often painful processes. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

He added, “Stitch exists to change this. Institutions should be able to focus on what matters and have a platform that can mould around their creativity. We are generally looking to make this process a lot more enjoyable for our partners.”

The company aims to remove many of the common barriers that banks, FinTechs, and large enterprises face in delivering modern financial services. According to the company, its platform can help accelerate product deployment timelines by up to 80% compared to traditional infrastructure models. Its existing client base includes Lulu Exchange, Alamoudi Exchange, Foodics, Dar Al Tamleek, Raya Financing, and Tanmeya Capital, among others.