RIYADH: Abdulmajeed Al-Sukhan is co-founder and CEO of Tamara, one of the leading providers of Buy Now Pay Later, or BNPL, service in the MENA region.
Having gained his bachelor’s degree in financial economics from California State University and a master’s degree in Economic Policy from Boston University, Al-Sukhan launched a succession of startups. First, Habli, a product delivery app; then Nana, which became “the largest digital grocery shopping platform in Saudi Arabia;” and finally, Tamara
in September 2020, with co-founders Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Al-Babtain.
Tamara app enables users to split payments into three installments with no fees or interest. The company has partnered with over 1,000 online merchants, including Namshi, Floward, SACO
World, and the pharmacy Whites. Headquartered in Riyadh, Tamara has offices in the UAE, Germany and Vietnam. Tamara’s stated mission is “to empower people to shop through an honest, transparent and inclusive financial solution.”
As the first BNPL firm to benefit from Saudi Central Bank’s Sandbox fintech development program, Tamara announced in April 2021 that it had secured funding of $110 million from a group of investors led by London-headquartered checkout.com. At the time, it was the largest Series A funding ever in the MENA region.
The company is using those funds to expand its operations across the GCC.
“Tamara was born to make a change,” Al-Sukhan said in a press statement upon the funding announcement. “The region and the world need payment solutions that are transparent and customer-oriented. At Tamara, we offer our customers an alternative to credit cards and Cash on Delivery (COD), which enhances their shopping experience.”