Qi Group Acquires Digital Zone in a Historic 8-Figure Deal, Driving Iraq’s Digital Future

Qi Group, Iraq’s largest financial technologies company, announces its acquisition of Digital Zone, the country’s leading platform for digital goods and services, in a significant eight-figure transaction. This marks Qi Group’s first acquisition of its kind and highlights a historic step for the Iraqi startup ecosystem. This strategic step aims to strengthen Iraq’s digital economy, enhance user experiences, and expand Digital Zone’s offerings across the region.

Founded in 2020 by Saif Al-Mufti and a small team of young, ambitious Iraqis, Digital Zone aimed to simplify access to phone top-up cards, internet subscriptions, gaming credits, and online gift cards by enabling users to purchase them online using digital payment cards. The platform grew over the next two years to become the leading platform for digital goods and services, offering the best catalog variety, pricing, and ease of use in the market.

In 2022, Qi Group completed its transaction with Digital Zone in a remarkable eight-figure acquisition and investment deal. This deal retains the platform’s team, structure, and partnerships while integrating it into the Qi Services app and the new SuperQi app that launched in 2024.

Saif Al-Mufti, founder and CEO of Digital Zone, stated, “We are thrilled to join forces with Qi, a partner who shares our vision of simplifying digital life in Iraq. Our platform offers one of the key avenues of spending for Iraqi cardholders, which is exactly what the fintech giant needs as it continues its push for e-payment adoption across the country. At the same time, we can now unlock a customer base of over 11 million monthly users. I am excited about the role we are playing in the digitalization of Iraq’s economy and the shaping of its society’s experience with technology.”

Luay Al-Obaidy, Qi’s Chief Product Officer, commented on the acquisition: “We are proud to have this partnership as part of Qi’s strategic pivot from payment processing to a broader commitment towards fulfilling the modern lifestyle needs of Iraqis. Digital Zone will be one of our key growth engines as we manage this pivot, introducing more and more of our users to the Qi ecosystem through its value-added services and unique offerings,” he added, “This represents our first acquisition as a Group and is certainly not the last. Our success with Digital Zone and the synergies this collaboration unlocked, from a 50 times increase in revenue during the first year to reaching 1 million monthly users of the service, proves that there is a landscape ripe for opportunities as we go on to collaborate with more founders and independent operators to scale our impact nationwide.”

Digital Zone has also pioneered new services, such as Ticket Zone, an online ticketing platform revolutionizing the fans’ experience across sports and entertainment. Since its establishment, Ticket Zone has sold over 30,000 tickets and handled the ticketing process for over 60 events, including the Iraqi Cup finals and the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Marwan Ahmed, Digital Zone’s Product Director, added, “This acquisition represents a new chapter for everyone at the company. With Qi’s support, we are now building a highly innovative ecosystem of digital products and services, with key exclusive partnerships with companies like Asiacell and Earthlink to provide unique product offerings to our customers. We are also introducing new services such as Ticket Zone, a ticketing platform for sports and entertainment events, which we intend to make the ultimate destination for all events in Iraq. We have also launched Rahal e-SIM for travelers and are soon expanding our offerings in the travel industry.”

Saif Al Mufti is the Founder and CEO of Digital Zone. With over 10 years of experience in the

financial technologies sector spanning a multitude of companies, he founded Digital Zone with a

team of talented young Iraqis, establishing a company that is now central to Iraq’s digital

ecosystem. Born and raised in Iraq, Saif earned his B.Sc. in Computer Science and is

recognized as a leading figure in the Iraqi startup scene.

Marwan Ahmed serves as the Ticketing Product and Marketing Director at Digital Zone, where he leads the innovative Ticket Zone platform, transforming Iraq’s events and entertainment industry. With over 15 years of experience across higher education, journalism, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, and ride-hailing, he has held key leadership roles at impactful tech-driven companies like Miswag and Careem. Marwan’s strategic vision, problem-solving abilities, and entrepreneurial mindset have made him a key figure in Iraq’s business landscape.

Luay Al-Obaidi serves as the Chief Product Officer at Qi, Iraq's premier financial technology

company. He leads the development of "SuperQi," one of the largest super-apps in the MENA

region with over 7 million monthly users, and manages Qi's investments across e-commerce,

logistics, travel, and health. With more than 15 years in the payments and financial technology

sectors, Luay has played a pivotal role in advancing Iraq’s financial inclusion efforts. Previously,

as Country Manager for Mastercard in Iraq, he established essential relationships with

government entities and created solutions to expand access to financial services for

the unbanked population.

Qi is the largest fintech company in Iraq, serving over 11 million customers through a network of

more than 30,000 cash locations and 3,000 merchants. As the region’s leading issuer of

Mastercard cards, Qi was the first fin-tech company to launch a super app of this scale in the

Middle East. Qi remains committed to innovating for Iraq’s evolving financial landscape and

empowering customers with access to various services.