Top US startup Stripe begins Mideast foray with Dubai office

Stripe is making its first foray into the Middle East as the online payments processing firm looks to seize on e-commerce growth in a region with high internet penetration and a largely young population.

The San Francisco and Dublin-based company has opened an office in Dubai Internet City, a business hub in the emirate, according to a statement on Tuesday. Alessandro Astone, formerly head of Stripe Italy, will lead sales in the region and Edouard de La Jonquiere will be in charge of partnerships with financial institutions.

Stripe, which presently operates in 44 countries, was founded in 2010 by two Irish siblings. The firm became the top startup in the US last month after its valuation almost tripled in less than a year to $95bn. It nearly overtook billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Instacart, according to CBInsights data.

In the Middle East, the company’s focus will be on selling its software allowing businesses to accept online payments to a growing number of firms as well as connecting those customers to a network of global brands already using Stripe, it said in the statement.

The value of digital payment transactions in the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is the second-largest city, has more than doubled in the last two years as lockdowns accelerated growth in online commerce. The value of online transactions reached $18.5bn in 2020 and is expected to add around $10bn over the next two years, according to Stripe’s statement.

Stripe counts companies including Amazon.com and Zoom Video Communications among its customers. The firm has recently branched out to offer checking accounts to businesses through e-commerce providers, working with banks including Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group and Barclays.