sama
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Malaa | ملاءة
Malaa (ملاءة) is a Riyadh-based fintech that became Saudi Arabia's first licensed open banking product. Its consumer app lets people link all their bank accounts in one place, track spending, and invest in Shariah-compliant, professionally managed portfolios at what it says is the lowest management fee in the Kingdom. Founded in 2020-2021 by Ali Alorainy and Faisal Alqarni, Malaa is regulated by both the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and the Capital Market Authority (CMA), and raised a $17.3M Series A in 2024 led by SNB Capital.
Tarabut
Tarabut (formerly Tarabut Gateway) is the MENA region's first and largest regulated open banking platform, connecting a network of banks and fintechs through a universal API. Founded in Bahrain by Abdulla Almoayed and now headquartered in Riyadh, the company provides banking-as-a-service, embedded finance, account-to-account payments, and data-driven credit tools that let financial institutions and businesses build personalized financial products across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.
Wendy Gonzalez
Wendy Gonzalez is the CEO of Sama, a mission-driven AI data annotation and model evaluation company that employs thousands of workers in East Africa. She joined Sama in 2015, rose through the ranks as COO and President, and assumed the CEO role in 2020 following the passing of founder Leila Janah. Under her leadership, Sama closed a $70M Series B - at the time the largest funding round for a woman-led AI infrastructure company - achieved Forbes AI 50 recognition, and scaled to over 3,000 employees while maintaining its B Corp certification and social mission of lifting people out of poverty through dignified work in the AI economy.