Alaan, the UAE-based corporate card and spend management platform, has announced the launch of an employee equity buyback program, a significant move that allows team members to sell a portion of their vested stock options. The initiative follows the company’s record-breaking $48 million Series A fundraise led by Peak XV Partners and marks one of the first times a MENA startup has offered such a program at this early stage.
A New Benchmark for Employee Ownership
Through the buyback, Alaan employees can participate in a liquidity event at the same valuation as its Series A investors, with no haircut applied. This initiative turns the often-abstract concept of startup equity into a concrete financial benefit for the team that helped build the company.
“Startups often use the word ‘ownership’ loosely. At Alaan, we’ve always wanted it to mean more than that,” said Parthi Duraisamy, Co-Founder and CEO of Alaan. “This buyback ensures the ownership our people hold is not just a number on paper – it’s real, tangible, and valuable today.”
Fueling Growth with Talent
Since its launch in 2022, Alaan has scaled rapidly, now serving over 2,000 customers and processing billions of dirhams in annualized card spend. The company, which expanded into Saudi Arabia earlier this year, has attributed much of its success to its talent strategy.
From its inception, Alaan has granted equity to every employee, a policy that has successfully attracted top-tier professionals from leading organizations such as Careem, BCG, Red Bull, McKinsey, and Goldman Sachs.
“The company grows when its people grow. We’ve always wanted Alaan to be a place where people feel invested and rewarded,” said Karun Kurien, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer. “As the company grows, it’s important that our team shares that success.”
From Paper to Profit
The buyback program demonstrates a maturing regional ecosystem where early employees are beginning to see significant financial outcomes from their stock options. Aditya Gupta, Operations Manager at Alaan, shared his experience.
“Alaan’s mission drew me in, but what sealed the deal was the fact that I would have equity and earn a part of the company from the get-go,” said Gupta. “Now, that very equity I was offered is worth ~15x, in just a matter of 3 years.”
About Alaan
Founded in 2022 by ex-McKinsey consultants Parthi Duraisamy and Karun Kurien, Alaan is the largest spend management platform in the Middle East. Its AI-powered corporate cards are used by over 2,000 businesses, including G42, Careem, Tabby, and Lulu Group. Alaan is a UAE Future 100 company and is ranked as the No. 1 expense management platform by G2 across the Middle East and Africa.
Source: Zawya
