UAE-based fintech startup Sovra has closed a pre-seed funding round of more than $2 million to build its self-custodial platform giving users in MENA direct control over their money through a global dollar account. The round was led by Pharsalus Capital and saw participation from prominent angel investors including Karim Atiyeh (founder of Ramp), Hisham Al-Falih (founder of Lean Technologies), Hany Rashwan (founder of 21shares), and Naguib S. Sawiris (chairman of Orascom Development Holding AG).
Quick Facts
- Funding: Over $2 million in a pre-seed round.
- Lead Investor: Pharsalus Capital.
- Core Offering: Self-custodial global digital dollar accounts.
A Response to Regional Financial Instability
Sovra aims to address deep-seated financial challenges across the MENA region, where two-thirds of adults are unbanked or underbanked. For many, even those with bank accounts, issues like high inflation, currency devaluation, withdrawal limits, and slow, expensive remittances—which can cost over 6% per transfer—are persistent risks.
The company was founded by Ahmad Wehbi, who was directly impacted by Lebanon’s 2019 banking system collapse, which saw bank deposits frozen and the local currency lose over 98% of its value. This experience is central to Sovra’s mission of providing an alternative that insulates users from such systemic failures. The platform is targeting young professionals, university students, and the regional diaspora as its initial user base.
“There has always been something between people and their money; a bank, a border, a fee, a policy, a form,” said Ahmad Wehbi, Founder and CEO of Sovra. “The technology to remove the middleman now exists. Sovra is the simplest way in. Your money works for you and answers only to you. If we disappear tomorrow, it’s still there. That’s not a company policy alone, but the architecture we have built for Sovra.”
How Self-Custody Puts Users in Control
Sovra’s core feature is its self-custodial architecture, meaning users have sole access to their funds. The platform acts as infrastructure rather than a gatekeeper. Dollar balances are held in USDC, a regulated US dollar-based stablecoin issued by the NYSE-listed, SEC-regulated company Circle.
From their mobile phones, users can hold digital dollars, earn yield by connecting to third-party DeFi protocols, send money globally in seconds, and spend using a card on the Visa and Mastercard networks. Because the user holds the keys to their account, their funds remain accessible independent of Sovra’s operations.
Anthony Ghosn, Managing Director at Pharsalus Capital, commented, “By giving people sovereign, self-custodial alternatives to fragile fiat and banking systems, Sovra is helping restore financial dignity in Lebanon and beyond. For those of us with ties to the region, these issues are deeply familiar — and Ahmad and the Sovra team stand out for having the courage and clarity to build where others have been constrained by the scale of the problem.”
The new funding will be used to expand Sovra’s engineering and product teams as it prepares for a public launch. The company operates with a distributed team across the Middle East and Europe, and its waitlist is currently open.
About Sovra
Sovra is a fintech platform that gives people full control over their money. Through a self-custodial account, users can hold dollars, access yield, spend with a global card, and send money instantly at near-zero cost. Incorporated in Delaware, Sovra operates across the Middle East and Europe and is built for emerging markets.
Source: Zawya
