Stream, the Saudi-born platform streamlining modern billing and payments for businesses in the MENA region, starting with Saudi Arabia, has announced $4 million in seed funding to scale its mission to remove friction from getting paid. The round was led by early-stage investment firm Outliers VC and amassed a strong investor base, adding to a cap table that includes BYLD Ventures and prominent angel investors such as Abdullah Elyas, Co-founder of Careem.
With this round, Stream will fuel its product development in engineering, compliance, payment capabilities and the overall user experience while strengthening its internal systems to support a rapidly growing subscriber base.
Founded in 2024 by Ibrahim Aldlaigan, Stream redefines how businesses across several sectors in MENA bill and collect payments from customers. The platform manages and automates the entire payment lifecycle from issuing branded app-free invoices to scheduling payments with flexible options, collection through local rails, cash flow visibility, reconciliation and record keeping.
Having built a firm foundation with businesses specialising first in early childhood education, Stream has since scaled into school networks, SaaS, and other verticals. Since launch, the company has surged with 40% month-on-month growth, powering millions in payments for thousands of customers across dozens of merchants; a testament to the Stream’s product and depth of the market.
Speaking on the round, Ibrahim Aldlagan, Founder & CEO of Stream, said, “Most of the world’s innovation in payments has focused on how people spend. We’re focused on how businesses get paid. This round helps us build the tools and infrastructure that make that as easy in MENA as it is anywhere else.”
He continues, “Most businesses in Saudi Araia and the region still collect everything upfront because they lack the systems to bill over time. Stream gives them structure and control; a business defines how and when payments happen – one-time, recurring or in parts – and we handle the rest. It’s about making payments predictable, flexible, and connected to the real flow of services.”
According to the Saudi Central Bank Report on Payments Usage Study 2023, the total value of payment transactions in Saudi Arabia reached approximately USD 4.8 trillion in 2023, with roughly 70% of retail transactions now happening digitally. Yet only around 7% of consumer transactions are reported to be recurring payments.
While the majority of payments have moved online, recurring payments such as tuition fees, rent, and subscriptions still run through manual or semi-manual processes. This is the extensive gap that Stream is focused on solving.
Sarah AlSaleh, General Partner at Outliers VC, stated, “Stream is built on deep local insight and a clear understanding of how businesses actually operate. Ibrahim brings the rare combination of investor perspective and relentless product execution, which is already reflected in how fast the platform is evolving. Stream is laying the foundation for the next generation of payment infrastructure in the region. We’re proud to back him and the Stream team and partner on the journey to streamline payments.”
Youcef Oudjidane, Founder of BYLD, shared, “In a short period of time, Ibrahim has built a culture of intensity and technical excellence that attracts top talent and drives the company’s mission to streamline payments and remove friction across MENA. It wouldn’t surprise me if we’re talking about the ‘Stream mafia’ in the years to come.”
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