Dubai-based spend management platform Pemo has secured $7 million in pre-Series A funding, co-led by Shorooq Partners and Augmentum Fintech. The round follows its $12 million seed round in April 2022, which was backed by Cherry Ventures, Shorooq, FinTech Collective, and others.
The startup, which offers corporate virtual and physical cards with automated expense management tools, has processed ~$380 million (AED 1.4 billion) in annualized transactions and serves over 4,000 companies. The platform helps businesses track spending through real-time analytics and AI-driven automated accounting.
Founded by former Rocket Internet and Google executives Ayham Gorani, Valerie Konde, Alessandro Duri, and Saed Ghorani, Pemo plans to use the funding for product development and expansion into Saudi Arabia. The company has grown to a team of 60 employees.
The funding comes at a strategic time as UAE businesses adapt to the recent introduction of corporate income tax, with Pemo’s automated tools helping companies maintain compliance and streamline operations.
Ayham Gorani, Co-Founder of Pemo, commenting on the investment, said, “We’ve been on a mission to help businesses save time and money by simplifying expense management and empowering teams to make responsible purchasing decisions.”
“The UAE’s thriving ‘pro-business’ ecosystem has been the perfect foundation for Pemo’s growth, and we’re excited to strengthen our presence further, enhance our product offering, and expand into new markets,” he added.
Dr. Bilal Baloch, Partner at Shorooq, said, “Pemo has been on an exciting journey from day one. We recognized the potential of the business early on, building a value creation plan for the company, and it’s been great to see them go from strength to strength under the leadership of stellar co-founders.”
Pemo’s notable rivals in the UAE include Qashio, Alaan, and Pluto. In Saudi, it will compete with SiFi, which recently raised $10 million in a seed round.
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