Stream Banks $4M Seed to Revolutionise MENA Business Payments

Stream, the Saudi-born platform working to simplify billing and payments for businesses across the MENA region, has wrapped up a solid $4 million seed round. The funding, led by Outliers VC, also drew in backing from BYLD Ventures and a number of high-profile angels, including Abdullah Elyas, co-founder of Careem — not a bad crowd to have on your side.

The company, founded earlier this year by Ibrahim Aldlaigan, plans to channel the cash into beefing up its tech stack — think engineering, compliance tools, and payment features — while sharpening its user experience. In plain terms, Stream wants to make sure getting paid is no longer a bit of a faff for regional businesses.

Stream’s platform manages everything from issuing sleek, app-free invoices to scheduling flexible payment options and automating all the unglamorous parts — reconciliation, record keeping, and cash flow visibility. It first gained traction among early childhood education centres before branching out into school networks, SaaS players and other sectors. The numbers aren’t shabby either: about 40% month-on-month growth and millions processed in payments for thousands of users already.

Ibrahim Aldlaigan summed it up neatly when he said innovation in payments has mostly centred on “how people spend,” while Stream is tackling “how businesses get paid.” I reckon that shift in focus could be spot on for a region where online spending is rising fast but predictable, recurring payments remain tricky. According to the Saudi Central Bank’s 2023 report, roughly 70% of retail transactions in the Kingdom now happen digitally, yet only around 7% of consumer payments are recurring — meaning things like tuition fees or subscriptions still tend to run on old-school manual tracks.

On the flip side, that’s exactly the gap Stream is eyeing. Most Saudi businesses still prefer to collect everything upfront simply because the tools to bill clients over time don’t exist. Stream lets them handle payments however they like — one-time, recurring, or partial — while the system takes care of the messy bits in the background.

Outliers VC partner Sarah AlSaleh noted that the company’s rapid progress rests on “deep local insight and a clear understanding of how businesses actually operate.” She added that Stream is laying the groundwork for the next wave of payment infrastructure across the region. As a regular at Arageek, I’ve seen plenty of startups talk about fixing payments — but few move this quickly.

BYLD’s founder, Youcef Oudjidane, also chipped in with a compliment, tipping his hat to Aldlaigan for building a culture that mixes “intensity and technical excellence.” He even joked it wouldn’t surprise him if people are talking about a “Stream mafia” a few years from now. And believe it or not, given the energy bubbling in Saudi’s fintech scene right now, that doesn’t sound too far-fetched.

It’s early days, sure, but with Stream’s growth curve and investor line-up, it feels like they’ve tapped into something real. From what I’ve seen while covering MENA startups for Arageek, the region’s digital payments puzzle has been waiting for someone to connect the dots. Stream might just be that missing piece — though we’ll have to wait and see if they can keep things moving as smoothly as promised.

(And yes, I’m definatly keeping an eye on where this one goes next.)

🚀 Got exciting news to share?

If you're a startup founder, VC, or PR agency with big updates—funding rounds, product launches 📢, or company milestones 🎉 — AraGeek English wants to hear from you!

✉️ Send Us Your Story 👇

https://en.arageek.com/send-us-your-story-or-a-news-tip