AI start-up Mal carries Middle East FinTech in H1 with mega-funding round

FinTech funding in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) experienced a slight decline of 9% year-on-year in the first half of 2026, reaching a total of $617 million, according to Dubai-based data firm Magnitt. However, Abu Dhabi-based start-up Mal played a significant role in this figure, securing $230 million in funding, accounting for 37% of the total Mena FinTech funding.

The mega-funding round for Mal, which launched the world's first AI-native Islamic digital bank, contributed to the $387 million raised by Mena FinTech companies during the first half of the year. Despite a halving of the number of deals to 57 transactions, funding levels remained steady due to larger amounts of capital invested across fewer companies compared to the same period last year.

In fact, deals worth less than $100 million made up 62.7% of total funding, a significant increase from 80% in the same period last year. This concentration of funding among a few large transactions highlights the dominance of one investor and one market, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which captured 85% of FinTech funding in the region.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia's concentration of capital alongside the decline in deal activity suggests a more limited spread of investment across the wider FinTech ecosystem.