DUBAI- Gulf buy now, pay later firm tabby said on Thursday it raised an additional $54 million from mostly existing investors including Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Capital, as part of an extended funding round that began last summer.

The company said the fresh funds, which count as part of a series B round that took place in August, would be used to support international expansion and consumer product offering.

Participation from existing investors that put in fresh capital into tabby also came from fintech-focused venture capital (VC) fund Arbor Ventures, Munich-headquartered Global Founders Capital (GFC) and Saudi tech VC fund STV.

tabby said it also brought in Sequoia Capital India, an arm of California-headquartered VC firm Sequoia Capital.

The company raised $50 million in August as part of the same round, and the latest fundraising brings the total for the offering to $104 million.

Tabby, which has over 1.1 million active shoppers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has raised a total of $180 million in debt and equity, including $150 million in 2021.

Founded in 2019, Dubai-based tabby partners with retailers to offer consumers, both online and in-store, the option to defer paying for purchases for up to 30 days or to pay four equal monthly instalments at zero cost to the consumer.

tabby, which said in August it plans to speed up plans to expand to other Arab markets, has partnered with over 3,000 brands, including a host of famous fashion names and online retailer Amazon and its regional rival noon.

"While BNPL (buy now pay later) is still in its relative infancy in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), the sector has witnessed one of the fastest rates of consumer adoption globally with 24% of consumers in the region reporting having used the option in 2021," tabby said in its statement.

"This fundraising clearly illustrates the growth prospects for the payment method in the region." (Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Susan Fenton)