Lean Technologies lands $33m funding to build infrastructure for fintech in the Middle East

Saudi Arabian fintech Lean Technologies has secured $33 million in its Series A funding round, led by Sequoia Capital India.

Lean Technologies raises $33m in Series A

New York-based Liberty City Ventures and former General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt also participated in the round.

Lean Technologies was founded in 2019 with offices in London, UK and the Middle East.

It says its platform provides a universal application programming interface (API) that enables fintechs and other third-party service providers to access their customers’ bank data and initiate real-time payments.

“We’re building the infrastructure for fintech in the Middle East,” the start-up states on its website.

“We believe that the strength of a developer is their creativity. We’re leaving it in their hands to dream up and execute ideas that can change the fintech landscape of the Middle East – we’re just here to provide the pipes.”

In summer 2020, the firm raised $3.5 million in a seed funding round led by RAED Ventures, Shorooq Partners, Outliers VC, Global Founders Capital, and Global Ventures. A number of angel investors also took part.

Last year, Saudi Arabia launched a new real-time payments system, developed together with IBM and Mastercard.

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) also plans to go live with open banking across the country in the first half of 2022.