The story of Tabby: how Tabby turned cash on delivery into a multibillion-dollar opportunity

Full film transcript

In February 2020, a new payment app launched. And weeks later, the whole world shut down because of COVID.

Timing that kills any startup. But this one became one of the most valuable fintech companies in the region.

Its name is Tabby.

Its founder, Hosam Arab, studied electrical engineering and got an MBA from Harvard.

And in 2011, he co-founded Namshi, the fashion store that Emaar later bought.

And at Namshi, he saw the problem every day: most people don't pay online.

In 2019, more than 60 percent of shoppers in the region preferred cash on delivery.

So he founded Tabby in Dubai, in 2019, with Daniel Barkalov.

The idea: buy now, pay later, in four installments, with no interest.

And COVID, which should have killed it, became its fuel. Everyone started buying online.

And in 2023, Tabby made a big decision: it moved its headquarters to Riyadh.

Because Saudi Arabia had become more than three quarters of its customers.

The same year, it raised $200 million led by Wellington, at a $1.5 billion valuation, and became a unicorn.

And in 2025, its valuation reached $3.3 billion.

And in September 2026, it announced a new round at a $6.5 billion valuation, pending central bank approval.

Today, Tabby says it has 25 million users and 70,000 merchants.

And more than $18 billion in transactions every year.

And the focus now is on a Tadawul listing.

So the very thing that used to hold back e-commerce became the opportunity itself.

The lesson for you as a founder: the biggest problem in a market can be its biggest opportunity.

Follow us at Saudi Founders.

Detailed figures and sources are in the Tabby profile in the directory.