Tamara company profile: valuation, funding & revenue

This Tamara company profile covers the company's valuation, revenue, funding rounds, investors and history. Tamara works in fintech, with a focus on buy now, pay later and consumer finance. It was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Its latest valuation on record is US$1 billion (December 2023). Every figure links to a public source, and anything the company hasn't disclosed is marked as such.

Revenue

Funding history

Tamara timeline

Key dates from the sources on this page, oldest first. Metric snapshots are listed after the funding events.

• 2020 — Tamara is founded in Riyadh by Abdulmajeed Alsukhan (CEO), Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
• Dec 2023 — Series C (equity and debt): US$340M, valuing the company at US$1B. Investors: Sanabil Investments and SNB Capital (leads).
• Sep 2025 — Debt facility: US$2.4B. Investors: Goldman Sachs, Citi, Apollo.
• September 2025 — Debt facility: US$2.4 billion: US$1.4 billion funded upfront and US$1 billion available over three years, from Goldman Sachs, Citi and Apollo.

Investors

Overview

Tamara is a Saudi fintech that lets shoppers split purchases into interest-free instalments, online and in stores, across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Customers can pay in three or four instalments, or pay later, at thousands of merchants. Tamara has expanded into a shopping app with deals and rewards, a card, and longer-term financing products, aiming to become a broader consumer finance platform.

Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, the CEO, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain founded Tamara in Riyadh in 2020. In 2023 it became Saudi Arabia's first fintech unicorn. It obtained a licence from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) in 2025, formalising its position in the Kingdom's regulated finance sector.

How Tamara makes money

Like other buy now, pay later companies, Tamara earns most of its revenue from merchants, who pay a fee on each instalment sale because offering instalments increases conversion and basket sizes. It also earns from late fees in some cases, from longer-term financing products and from advertising and promotions in its app. Its products are designed to be Shariah-compliant, which matters to many customers and partners in Saudi Arabia.

Funding

Tamara raised early funding from investors including Checkout.com, Shorooq Partners, Coatue and Saudi investors. In December 2023 it raised US$340 million in a Series C, combining equity and debt, led by Sanabil Investments (backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund) and SNB Capital, which valued it at US$1 billion and made it a unicorn.

Because buy now, pay later companies must fund the instalments they offer before customers repay, they rely heavily on debt. In September 2025 Tamara secured a US$2.4 billion financing facility from Goldman Sachs, Citi and Apollo Global Management, with US$1.4 billion funded upfront and US$1 billion available over three years. Some market participants have estimated its current value above the 2023 mark, but no new equity valuation has been disclosed, so we use the Series C figure. Our guide to venture debt explains how debt financing supports growth companies.

Competition

Tamara's main competitor is Tabby, which was valued much higher in 2026. Both compete for merchants and shoppers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and both are broadening into wider financial services. Banks' credit cards and instalment plans, newer local BNPL providers and global payment companies are also competitors. Tamara's advantages are its strong Saudi base, Saudi institutional backing and its new SAMA licence.

Profitability

Tamara hasn't published full financial statements in the sources we used. A case study citing company data reported revenue of SAR 215.9 million and net profit of SAR 25.8 million for the first quarter of 2025, suggesting it was profitable; we haven't confirmed these figures from a primary source, so we don't include them in the data table.

Tamara at a glance

Tamara is a Riyadh buy now, pay later company founded in 2020 by Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain. It became Saudi Arabia's first fintech unicorn after a US$340 million Series C at US$1 billion in December 2023, led by Sanabil Investments and SNB Capital, and secured a US$2.4 billion debt facility from Goldman Sachs, Citi and Apollo in September 2025.

Saudi Arabia's fintech push

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 programme aims to diversify the economy away from oil and increase the share of cashless payments. The central bank has created licensing frameworks and a regulatory sandbox for fintechs, and government-linked investors such as the Public Investment Fund have backed local champions. That environment helped Tamara and Tabby grow quickly. The Kingdom's young, digitally active population and growing e-commerce market add to the opportunity.

How BNPL companies fund themselves

A buy now, pay later company pays the merchant upfront, then collects instalments from the customer over weeks or months. That means it needs a large pool of capital to fund receivables, far more than equity alone could provide. Most BNPL companies use warehouse facilities, in which banks and credit funds lend against portfolios of customer receivables. The cost of that funding, along with credit losses, determines profitability. Large facilities from top-tier lenders, like Tamara's, signal confidence in the quality of its loan book.

Questions for merchants

• What fee will you pay per transaction, and when are funds settled?
• Who bears the risk if a customer doesn't pay?
• How much do instalment options raise conversion and order values in your category?

Regulation of buy now, pay later

Regulators around the world have tightened oversight of buy now, pay later as it has grown. Concerns include customers taking on too many small debts across several providers, unclear fees and aggressive collection practices. In Saudi Arabia, the central bank introduced rules for BNPL providers covering licensing, affordability checks, disclosures and limits. Tamara's SAMA licence means it now operates under those rules, which adds compliance costs but also gives it legitimacy with merchants, banks and lenders, and creates barriers for unlicensed competitors. Clear regulation also makes large lenders more comfortable providing funding, which helped Tamara secure its multi-billion-dollar facility.

The UAE and other Gulf states have taken similar steps, and providers operating across several countries must meet each one's requirements, which favours well-capitalised companies like Tamara and Tabby over smaller rivals that lack the capital and compliance teams needed to meet them in several different markets at once.

Latest developments (October 2026)

Tamara has relied on debt rather than new equity to fund growth. It secured a US$2.4 billion asset-backed facility with Goldman Sachs, Citi and Apollo, according to FinTech Futures, and received a full consumer finance licence in Saudi Arabia in 2025. Its last equity round remains the December 2023 Series C that made it a unicorn. See our consumer lending fintech guide.

What to watch

Watch for a new equity round or IPO, growth under its SAMA licence, expansion into new products, credit quality and competition with Tabby.

Takeaways

Retailers in the Gulf can use BNPL to lift sales, comparing Tamara and Tabby on fees and reach. Fintech founders can learn how debt financing underpins lending businesses. Investors should note that Tamara's last equity valuation is from 2023 and may not reflect current value.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from the public sources below. Where sources disagreed, we used the company's own announcement or a primary news report. Private-company data changes; check the date beside each figure.

1. FinTech Futures
2. FinTech Futures