Most UAE-founded companies raise a Series B and expand regionally. RemotePass reached profitability first, then used that position to raise on European and US expansion terms — an unusual sequencing that EBRD evidently rewarded.
RemotePass, the UAE-founded global employment, payroll, and spend management platform, raised $17.4 million in a Series B round on 20 May 2026, led by EBRD Venture Capital, the investment arm of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Participating investors included 500 Global alongside existing backers Oraseya Capital, 212 VC, Access Bridge Ventures, and Khwarizmi Ventures.
The round takes RemotePass’s total funding to date above $30 million. Founded in 2021 by Kamal Reggad and Karim Nadi, the company operates a platform that allows businesses to hire, pay, and manage contractors and full-time employees across more than 150 countries — a category that serves both the GCC’s substantial expatriate workforce market and the global shift towards remote and distributed employment models.
Profitability before scale: the EBRD signal
RemotePass reached profitability in early 2025 before commencing this fundraising process — a milestone that EBRD Venture Capital, which has a mandate to back economically sustainable businesses rather than purely growth-stage plays, treats as a prerequisite for institutional backing.
The EBRD’s involvement carries specific significance: as a multilateral development bank, it does not typically lead consumer-facing fintech rounds. EBRD VC focuses on technology-enabled businesses with clear social and economic development dimensions in its operating territories. The UAE falls within that mandate, and RemotePass’s model — enabling cross-border employment compliance for companies in Europe, the US, and emerging markets hiring talent in MENA and beyond — aligns directly with the EBRD’s employment-access objectives.
What the platform does, and what SpendCards adds
RemotePass’s core product automates contractor and payroll management across 150+ jurisdictions, handling legal compliance, tax obligations, and payment execution in local currencies. Customers include Logitech, Tata Group, InDrive, and Careem — a range that spans consumer technology, logistics, and mobility.
In late 2025, the company launched SpendCards, integrating payroll, contractor payments, and corporate expense management into a single platform interface. The product expansion moves RemotePass into the adjacent category of corporate spend management, where competitors include Pleo, Spendesk, and Payhawk — European-headquartered companies that have not deeply penetrated MENA markets.
Europe and US as expansion targets
The Series B will fund market entry into Europe and the US, alongside deeper compliance infrastructure and AI investment. Going from UAE-born platform to credible European operator requires regulatory licencing — specifically, authorisation as a payment service provider and potentially as an employer-of-record in multiple EU jurisdictions. EBRD’s European network, including connections to regulatory bodies and corporate partners across Eastern and Central Europe, provides a pathway that purely GCC-focused VCs cannot offer.
The US employer-of-record market is contested by Deel, Remote, and Rippling — all of which have raised hundreds of millions of dollars. RemotePass’s differentiation will be its MENA-to-global flow expertise: companies in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt hiring globally, and global companies building teams in MENA.
What this means for GCC HR-tech investors
RemotePass’s funding round is the most significant GCC-originated HR-tech raise in the current cycle, executed by a company that generated positive unit economics before seeking growth capital. The EBRD backing — a non-traditional VC source — indicates the market is beginning to attract institutional investors who want proven economics rather than high-growth projections.
