Financial technology companies in the United Kingdom (UK) are sending a delegation to Saudi Arabia to raise investments for British start-ups, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Among those sending their representatives to the Gulf state this month are Wise Plc and venture capital companies Anthemis Group and Outward VC, the news agency said, citing documents regarding the visit.

The members of the delegation are expected to meet with the Saudi Central Bank and the Public Investment Fund in Riyadh as part of a three-day mission.

Start-ups in Saudi Arabia have raised the most funds in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in recent times.

Saudi Arabia accounted for $337.6 million out of the $800 million raised in the region in November 2023, with fintech businesses leading the table in terms of funding amount, according to a report by Wamda and Digital Digest.

Last December, fintech start-up Tamara, which operates a platform offering buy now, pay later (BNPL) services, became Saudi’s first fintech unicorn after a $340 fundraising brought its valuation to $1 billion.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria ) Seban.scaria@lseg.com