Forbes Middle East Fintech 50 2026 Names Tabby No.1

In Short

Forbes Middle East has published its Fintech 50 2026 ranking.

The Fintech 50 firms processed over $260 billion in transactions in 2025.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt made up 76% of the list.

What Happened

Forbes Middle East released its annual Fintech 50 2026 list, ranking 50 fintech companies across MENA. Fintech here means digital finance companies, like payments, lending, and investing apps.

The ranking used metrics such as external funding, transaction volume, active users, consumer reach, geographic footprint, and progress in growth and expansion. Forbes also excluded fintech entities linked to exchange houses, telecom operators, traditional banks, and government institutions.

Saudi-based Tabby took the top spot for the second year in a row. Forbes said Tabby processes more than $18 billion in annual transaction volume and raised $233 million in a Series F round in September 2026, at a $6.5 billion valuation.

Egypt’s Fawry ranked second, supported by 55.4 million monthly users as of June 2026. MNT-Halan ranked third, and Forbes noted it raised an investment round led by Al Ahly Capital Holding at a $1.4 billion valuation in June 2026. MNT-Halan is also selling a 20% stake via an IPO, which is scheduled to close by mid-October.

Egypt’s Valu also made the top 10, ranking eighth. A separate October 8 report on Egyptian companies in the ranking said Valu had more than 955,000 active users and processed 8.7 million transactions in 2025.

Why It Matters

For African founders and investors tracking MENA fintech, the list is a quick signal of where scale is already visible, especially in payments, BNPL (buy now, pay later), and consumer finance.

The country breakdown also shows concentration. The UAE led with 15 companies, followed by Saudi Arabia with 13 and Egypt with 10. That concentration matters for expansion plans, regulatory strategy, and where talent and capital are clustering.

Finally, the transaction number, $260 billion processed in 2025, reinforces that fintech growth in MENA is now tied to real usage, not just funding rounds.