Thndr Receives Initial Approval for Saudi Brokerage Licence
Thndr has received preliminary approval for a Saudi brokerage licence, aiming to launch by Q1 2027. The Cairo-based platform also seeks a prepaid card in Egypt via Visa and Suez Canal Bank.
Egyptian investment platform Thndr has secured initial approval to conduct securities brokerage activities in Saudi Arabia, co-founder and CEO Ahmad Hammouda told Asharq Business. The company targets launching operations in the kingdom during the first quarter of 2027, pending final regulatory clearance.
Separately, Thndr has submitted a formal application to the Central Bank of Egypt for a prepaid card in partnership with Visa and Suez Canal Bank. Once approved, the card will enable users to make payments and perform instant withdrawals and deposits.
Founded in 2020 by Hammouda and Seif Amr, Thndr enables customers to trade stocks and gold and invest in mutual funds. A sister app, Rumble, provides subscription-based financial advice. Hammouda, a former investment banker and ex-general manager of Uber Egypt, originally pitched the concept of "a brokerage without brokers" in 2016 but was turned down, a rejection he later called a favour.
The company has raised $37.8 million across four funding rounds from backers including Y Combinator, Prosus Ventures and Tiger Global. Revenue grew from $120,000 in 2021 to $8 million in 2024, according to the firm. The app has been downloaded more than 5.5 million times, with funded accounts rising to 700,000 this year from 500,000 in 2025. The average user is 30-32 years old, 80% are first-time investors, roughly half come from outside Cairo and Alexandria, and 12% are women. Thndr topped the 2026 FT-Statista ranking of Africa's Fastest Growing Companies.
The 2023 Egyptian currency crisis proved a turning point for the platform, as investors shifted into stocks and gold after the pound's devaluation drove inflation and eroded savings in certificates of deposit. The EGX recorded 164,000 new registrations in the first quarter of 2026, up 200% year-on-year, versus 740,000 total registered investors in 2023.
Saudi Arabia is part of a broader regional expansion. Thndr already holds a brokerage licence in Abu Dhabi and has applied in Dubai. Hammouda targets a presence in seven markets by 2030, including Iraq, Morocco and Bahrain, pointing to the Arab Federation of Exchanges' 16 capital markets, roughly 1,600 tickers and $4.4 trillion in combined market cap as the long-term prize.
Source: Thndr