Inviting all investors to the party: How FinTech is gaining influence in the Gulf

Bahraini entrepreneur Nawaf AlMaskati’s aim through his start-up is to ensure everyone has an invitation to the party and access to a slice of the cake. Well, not literally, but Tanami Capital is hoping to open up private markets – previously only privy to institutions – to individual investors as well.

The company, which last month received a licence from the Central Bank of Bahrain, can now offer institutional-grade global private market investments regionally through a digital platform. Private market investments cover private equity, infrastructure, private debt and real estate, among others.

“So these markets that have superior risk adjusted returns than public markets have been really out of reach for everyday investors,” Mr AlMaskati says.

“For the longest time, over the last 50 years, they've been delivering amazing returns for institutions, but not everyone was being invited to the party.

"What we're doing is we're breaking the barriers, we're making sure that everyone gets an invitation to the party and everyone gets a piece of the cake to be able to invest in the top-tier opportunities that are available out there today.”

The company, which has partnerships with global asset managers including KKR, Blackstone, Brookfield and Carlyle, offers access to curated private market opportunities with quarterly liquidity. The minimum amount to start investing through its digital platform is $5,000.

This week, it also unveiled SmartMatch, a private markets robo-adviser, which will enable investors to build portfolios customised to their objectives, investment horizon and risk appetite.

Nawaf AlMaskati, managing director of Tanami Capital in Bahrain. Photo: Tanami Capital

Bigger pie

With more and more FinTechs like Tanami entering the market, the adoption of financial technology has boomed in the Middle East and North Africa, offering market inclusion, boosting transparency and providing more options to consumers.

Regional FinTech start-ups recorded their “strongest half-year” in the first six months of 2025, raising $598 million, triple the amount during the same period last year, Magnitt said in a report in September. The amount was raised from 93 deals, also up 69 per cent on an annual basis.

The region is expected to be the fastest-growing globally for the sector, with 35 per cent annual growth in FinTech net revenue until 2028, compared with a global average of 15 per cent, McKinsey said in a report.

This is primarily because the