Najm Capital

Najm Fund I + Co-InvestGCC growth equity, infrastructure, and strategic buyouts · Q1 2026 reporting

K. Al Rashidi · Director

Najm/Pipeline/Tamara

Inbox

Tamara

Private

BNPL / Islamic Fintech·Growth Equity·$50M check·@ $1.0B

Matches thesisFinancial Services & FinTech·Partner owner: Sara Al Mazrouei

Inbound source

Founder / mgmt direct

Abdulmajeed AlsukhanCEO & Co-Founder · Tamara

[email protected]

Apr 15, 20262:00 PM

Subject: Tamara Series C — Invitation to Participate

Dear Najm team — we are opening Tamara's Series C to select strategic investors ahead of our planned Saudi Main Market listing. We are the largest sharia-compliant BNPL platform in Saudi Arabia with $400M in annualised GMV, 5M users, and PIF backing through the Saudi Venture Capital Company. I wanted to reach out directly given Najm's MENA fintech mandate. Happy to arrange a call this week if you have capacity.

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Executive summary

Tamara is Saudi Arabia's leading sharia-compliant BNPL platform, with $400M in GMV and 5 million users. The company is backed by the Public Investment Fund (via Saudi Venture Capital Company) and targets the Saudi youth demographic (60% under 35) that is systematically underserved by traditional credit. The Series C at $1B entry is aggressive relative to current GMV, implying a 2.5x GMV multiple vs Tabby at 0.6x — Tamara is priced for its Saudi-exclusive growth story. Key risk is Tabby's dual-geography competition and SAMA's evolving credit bureau framework. Najm's Saudi network could accelerate Tamara's enterprise merchant partnerships, creating genuine strategic value.

Company snapshot

Business model: Sharia-compliant split-payment BNPL (murabaha structure — no interest, profit margin on instalment) targeting Saudi merchants; monetises via merchant fee (3–4.5% MDR) and Tamara Pro subscription for premium users.
Products: BNPL checkout (4-pay, murabaha) · Tamara Pro (subscription with exclusive deals) · Merchant Dashboard · Tamara for Enterprise (API-first integration)
Geography + scale: Saudi Arabia (primary — 90% of GMV) · UAE (10%, new) · Bahrain (pilot)
People: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan (CEO & Co-Founder, ex-McKinsey) · Turki Bin Zarah (COO & Co-Founder, ex-STC) · Manal Al Sharif (Chief Growth Officer)

Market

TAM + growth: Saudi BNPL market $15B by 2028 · Saudi e-commerce $31B and growing 35% annually · 60% of Saudi population under 35 with low credit card penetration
Competitive set: Tabby (dual-geography, larger) · Postpay (UAE-focused) · Halan (Egyptian expansion) · Tamara's sharia-compliant murabaha structure is a genuine differentiator in the Saudi market where Islamic finance compliance is a purchasing decision factor for 40% of consumers surveyed.
Tailwinds: Saudi Vision 2030 fintech strategy · SAMA BNPL licensing framework creating barriers · Saudi e-commerce CAGR 35% · PIF backing provides merchant partnership access through Portfolio Company channel

Financial profile

Revenue: FY2025A revenue $42M · GMV $400M · net revenue margin ~10.5%
Growth: 75% YoY revenue · GMV grew from $220M to $400M · merchants grew to 12,000
Profitability: Contribution-positive in Saudi mature cohorts · company net loss $18M · path to breakeven FY2027
Unit economics: CAC $8 per user (PIF channel subsidised) · LTV $140 over 18 months · 3.5x annual repeat purchase

Deal structure

Round size: Series C $100M total · $50M Najm allocation
Valuation: $1B pre-money · 23.8x FY2025 revenue — premium to Tabby reflecting Saudi-only market premium
Security: Preferred with 1.0x non-participating liquidation preference
Co-investors: PIF / Saudi Venture Capital (existing majority) · Shorooq Partners · Checkout.com

Thesis fit · Financial Services & FinTech

Saudi market access and PIF alignmentStrong

PIF backing provides Tamara direct access to Saudi Aramco, SABIC, and STC procurement channels as enterprise merchants.

Revenue trajectoryPartial

75% YoY growth is strong but at $42M revenue base, the $1B valuation implies 23.8x revenue — elevated vs peers.

Competitive differentiationPartial

Sharia-compliant murabaha structure is a real differentiator in Saudi but Tabby is also sharia-compliant and has a larger user base.

Valuation disciplineWeak

$1B at 23.8x revenue is expensive for a pre-EBITDA platform; Tabby is more attractively valued at 8.5x revenue with faster absolute growth.

Risks + mitigants

Valuation premium to Tabby unjustified — both platforms are Saudi-active, Tamara's Saudi-only moat is erodingMitigant: PIF channel and sharia-first brand positioning provides some differentiation, but the valuation gap needs to narrow

SAMA credit bureau implementation 2026 could increase defaults on high-utilisation cohortsMitigant: Tamara's conservative underwriting (max SAR 3,000 first limit) reduces loss rate vs peers

UAE expansion is nascent — risks capital allocation away from Saudi core before profitabilityMitigant: Management has indicated UAE is an opportunistic rather than strategic priority; Saudi remains 90% of GMV

Similar deals in playbook

Tabby (MENA BNPL)2026Invested

We are actively scoping Tabby at $660M / 8.5x revenue — Tamara at $1B / 23.8x revenue is a clear valuation disadvantage. If we must choose one BNPL exposure in MENA, Tabby is the better entry point.

Preliminary diligence items

1.Understand PIF equity structure — what governance rights does Saudi Venture Capital hold?

2.Cohort-level credit data by vintage — compare loss rates to Tabby as benchmark

3.Sharia board composition and murabaha compliance audit scope

4.Merchant concentration analysis — what % of GMV is top 10 merchants?

5.Cap table waterfall modelling given $1B pre-money and PIF preference terms

Deal progressionStage 1 of 6

InboundCIM received · initial parse

Quick LookMemo drafted · thesis match

Diligence scopingWorkstreams + owners defined

Diligence activeData room · expert calls · model

IC memoDrafted → IC review

DecisionPursue · pass · watch

Co-investor set

Public Investment Fund (PIF) / Saudi Venture Capital

Shorooq Partners

Checkout.com

Structure

1.0x non-participating liquidation preference