Zywa, a teen-focused FinTech startup aiming to re-imagine banking for Gen Z in the Middle East and North Africa, raised $3m in a seed round. The round included participation from Goodwater Capital, Dubai Future District Fund, Rebel Fund, Trampoline Venture Partners, Zemu VC, and European family offices, as well as strategic angel investors.

Founded in 2021 by Alok Kumar and Nuha Hashem, Zywa brings a unique solution to the region by offering a gamified community-based banking app and payment card to Gen Z between the age of 11-25 years old. The startup received 100k signups in four months.

The seed fund will help the startup focus on product, growth and strategic partnerships to accelerate their efforts in the UAE and Egypt markets while preparing for their launch in Saudi Arabia in early 2023.

“The seed round will help us create more product initiatives to give the best possible experience to our Gen Z users while building their financial literacy. We want them to experience banking in a cool way that sets a high standard for them in the future. This funding will also help us tailor the product to a new audience in my home country (Egypt) and the country where I grew up (Saudi Arabia). We are proud to have a product that is localized to the MENA region and that Gen Z can resonate with,” Nuha Hashem, co-founder and CTO, stated.