• Qatar-based fintech Karty, has raised a $1.2 million (QR4.3M) pre-Seed round from Visa, Qatar Development Bank (QDB), Qatar Foundation, and local angel investors. 
• Founded in 2021, Karty is a corporate spend management platform.
• The fintech is also supported by Qatar Fintech Hub (QFTH) and Qatar Financial Center (QFC).

Press release 

Qatar-based FinTech platform Karty has raised $1.2M (QR4.3M) in a Pre-SEED round from Visa, Qatar Development Bank (QDB), Qatar Foundation, and Qatar based angel investors. The Msheireb-based FinTech aims to revolutionize the daily financial experiences for its customers by leveraging cutting-edge technology and transaction data. It is working closely with strategic partner Visa to deliver full digital payment solutions for both consumer and business expenses

The FinTech app is supported by Qatar Fintech Hub (QFTH) and Qatar Financial Center (QFC) as well as Visa, QDB and Qatar based angel investors through investments and innovation grants. 

Qatar Foundation is supporting through its innovation coupon programme. Co-founder Abdulaziz al-Marri,  commented, "We can’t wait for consumers and businesses to see and feel the benefits that KARTY will provide them. Such as peer-to-peer payments that will allow users to instantly send and receive money to other KARTY customers, interactive charts that will show daily spending, and allow them to track spending with automatic categorisation or edit transactions manually. All wrapped up in a secure, low-cost, and contactless financial tool."

Ibrahim Abdulaziz al-Mannai, executive director of Advisory at QDB, shared his thoughts on the investment, “QDB collaborates with the Qatar Central Bank to ensure a seamless execution of the national fintech strategy that will boost Qatar’s positioning as a central hub for business in the Middle East. Therefore, we established QFTH to be able to provide a valuable programme that is capable of attracting and supporting local and international fintechs."

According to Qatar Foundation, investing in startups and entrepreneurs whose innovative ideas benefit the society are a priority for it.

Dr Azza Altawashi, Investment and Business Development Manager at the foundation, added, "In addition to funding, QF’s innovation coupon provided KARTY with technical support and guidance that helped them further develop their offering – the first digital wallet app in Qatar with features on savings and financial awareness benefits – and take it to the market.”