Wamda has invested in UAE-based peer-to-peer (P2P) payment application Ziina’s seed funding round, which was led by the Oman Technology Fund (OTF)-backed Jasoor Ventures. Other investors who participated in this round include Class 5 Global, Long Journey Ventures, Graph Ventures, Jabbar Internet Group and FJ Labs.

Founded in 2020 by Faisal Toukan, Sarah Toukan and Andrew Gold, Ziina offers its users in the UAE simplified P2P payment services. The startup intends to increase its product offering to serve freelancers and small businesses, grow its team, expand its footprint going into 2021, with plans to expand to Saudi Arabia and Jordan by 2022.

“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 supporting the fintech ecosystem and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” said Faisal Toukan, CEO and co-founder of Ziina.

“Coupled with this, we’ve received an enthusiastic response from VCs and angel investors during our latest funding round and are incredibly grateful for their support. This will contribute to supercharging Ziina’s growth in the year ahead, achieving the goals we’ve set. Through Ziina we want to help redefine the way people in the Middle East think of, interact with and experience financial services. Our company is founded on the belief that everyone should have access to the next generation of financial services,” he added.

Ziina is the third UAE startup to be recognised by Silicon Valley’s startup accelerator Y-Combinator, and is participating in its Winter 2021 batch.

“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. We’re excited to tap into Y-Combinator’s larger network, including its exceptional talent and investor pools. Furthermore, it also allows us to have access to mentors from top technology companies, which will propel Ziina to an even higher level when it comes to scaling our operations,” said Toukan.