In this edition of Founder’s Hustle, we dive into the journey of Omar Abu Innab, a seasoned financier who made a shift into tech after 18 years in investment banking. As the co-founder and CEO of Keyper, Omar leveraged his deep expertise in finance and structured investments to build an end-to-end real estate platform with a strong fintech component. This article explores how Keyper is transforming real estate transactions, rental payments, and property management in Dubai, setting new standards in the region. 

From Wall Street to Proptech Innovation

Omar grew up in Jordan before moving to the U.S., where he built a strong foundation in finance. With degrees in accounting and finance, he started his career on Wall Street—spending five years at Citi in structured finance and bond issuances. 

Then came 2008. The financial crisis reshaped the industry, and for Omar, it was a turning point. He relocated to Dubai, where he spent five years with Credit Suisse, another five years at Goldman Sachs, and later led investment banking for Guggenheim Partners in the region.

After 18 years in banking, Omar decided it was time to step away from banking and move into tech—specifically fintech—driven by his expertise and the opportunities emerging in the sector. As he explored potential ventures, real estate stood out. Not just globally, but particularly in Dubai, a market teeming with international buyers and high transaction volumes.

Building Keyper

Unlike many founders who launch ventures based on personal pain points, Omar leveraged his deep expertise in investment banking and structured finance to reimagine real estate transactions and workflows. Together with his cofounder Walid Shihabi, who brought complementary experience and a shared vision, they built Keyper—a platform at the intersection of proptech and fintech.

Keyper started by building products tailored to landlords. As investors themselves, Omar and his team understood what property owners were looking for—insights, transparency, and efficiency. They created a platform where landlords can list their properties for free and access features like managing income statements, a document library, and a dedicated relationship manager. Most notably, Keyper introduced Dubai’s first live valuation tool—similar to Zillow’s “Zestimate”—which updates property values based on comparable transactions in the same building or area. 

Beyond that, Keyper offered real estate investors an end-to-end solution for the entire property lifecycle, from acquisition and mortgage facilitation to handovers, leasing, maintenance, and renewals. When it’s time to exit, the platform supports property sales, completing a seamless investment journey. 

Today, the platform hosts over 6,600 properties with a total asset value exceeding $4 billion.But the opportunity didn’t stop there. One of the biggest inefficiencies in Dubai’s rental market is the reliance on checks for rent payments—typically split into just one to four payments per year, offering no flexibility or rewards for tenants. 

To solve this, Omar introduced Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL)—the first and only product of its kind in the UAE. This system allows tenants to pay rent monthly via credit card—earning miles and rewards in the process—thereby digitizing rent payments and making them more affordable and flexible.

Rent Now, Pay Later

Writing checks to pay rent is an outdated system that banks, landlords, and tenants alike find frustrating. Keyper’s Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL) product is changing that.

For tenants, the process is simple: for example, instead of paying four checks totaling AED 100,000, they can choose to pay AED 106,000 (an additional AED 6,000 as a premium) in 12 monthly installments using their credit card. This option allows tenants to earn credit card rewards and miles while spreading out their payments over time.

For landlords, the benefits are just as compelling: they can still receive four rent checks as usual when a tenant uses RNPL. Alternatively, for a fee equal to 8% of the annual rental income, they can let Keyper manage the property and receive the full year’s rent upfront—plus default protection. To mitigate risk, Keyper employs open banking and digital verification for instant applicant approval. This process involves income verification through bank account logins, automated credit score checks, KYC compliance via UAE ID uploads, and affordability assessments. 

The RNPL product has been validated by remarkable demand—over 20,000 applications worth $330 million in rent, achieved with almost no marketing effort.

The Importance of Financing

While a few companies in the region were attempting similar rent-now-pay-later models, Omar knew that access to financing was the make-or-break factor: “If you don’t have access to financing, then you’re dead in the water,” he says.

Keyper cracked a major challenge by securing institutional backing through a groundbreaking partnership with Franklin Templeton—structuring the first-ever startup-issued Shariah-compliant bond in the Middle East. This $30 million sukuk was made possible by Omar’s deep experience in dealing with investment firms and navigating complex financing. The milestone set the company apart—it gave Keyper the financial muscle to offer rent financing at scale. While RNPL only contributes 20% of Keyper’s total revenue, it’s the company’s fastest-growing product, expanding 30% month-on-month.

This year, Dubai’s Land Department has approached Keyper to explore digitizing rent payments across the entire city, envisioning a future where renting is as seamless as a Netflix subscription, complete with UAE Pass verification, DocuSign agreements, and automated rent payments.

User Acquisition

Keyper’s growth story is also a story of gradual yet steady user acquisition. “The first year was just about building. The second year, we onboarded about 1,000 properties, and by the third year we reached 6,000 properties,” recalls Omar. 

Growth was then further boosted by onboarding three institutional clients—Keyper now manages four of their buildings. Unlike individual landlords, institutional property owners typically oversee larger buildings and face significantly more operational complexity. That’s why Keyper is now developing an enterprise-grade web app designed specifically for these clients. 

Beyond traditional marketing initiatives, Keyper is also expanding its reach through strategic corporate partnerships to accelerate user acquisition. For instance, the recently announced collaboration with FAB empowers all of the bank’s credit card users to pay their rent using Keyper. This partnership not only streamlines the rent payment process but also rewards users with cashback and the opportunity to win their rent back.

How Keyper Moves Quickly

One of the hallmarks of Keyper’s success is its rapid execution. “We have a lot going on at the same time,” says Omar, emphasizing the company’s ability to juggle multiple initiatives simultaneously. The split responsibilities between Omar and his co-founder Walid—where Omar focuses on the RNPL model, financials, and fundraising, while his partner steers product and commercial operations—has proven to be a key ingredient for their swift progress.

Additionally, Keyper’s top management and a high-caliber team have been instrumental in driving rapid growth. This efficient execution is reflected in the company’s revenue milestones: an 8x revenue increase in the first year, a 5x jump in the second, and a goal to 5x revenue in the current year—with the first quarter already on track to meet this target.

Beyond Dubai

The company established a solid product-market fit in Dubai and is now looking to expand. With a license secured, RNPL is set to launch in Abu Dhabi with backing from Badiya Capital. Beyond the UAE, Keyper plans to open an office and scale its operations in Saudi Arabia by 2026.

While Dubai’s rental system is unique, the underlying inefficiencies that Keyper addresses exist in other markets too. Western cities like New York, where landlords face liquidity constraints with monthly rent collections, can benefit from Keyper’s model of paying yearly rent upfront. 

However, scaling globally involves navigating complex legal frameworks, especially given the varying regulations around lease agreements and eviction rights. For example, while Dubai allows landlords to evict non-paying tenants within 30-60 days, more tenant-friendly laws in Europe and the U.S. increase the risk associated with RNPL. “We act like an insurance provider, but we don’t actually insure the risk—we take it on our balance sheet. Our default rate today is just 0.7%. If we enter the U.S., we’d likely partner with an insurance company to underwrite that risk,” Omar explains.

With the UAE alone presenting a $6 billion annual opportunity—and Dubai’s real estate sales reaching $154 billion in 2024—Keyper remains focused on deepening market penetration in the region before scaling internationally.

Equity & Debt Financing

Securing funding has been a critical pillar of Keyper’s growth and innovation. In May 2024, the company closed a significant pre-series A round by raising $4 million in equity—led by top regional venture capital firms such as BECO Capital and MEVP. At the same time, as mentioned previously, Keyper secured a term sheet for $30 million in debt financing from Franklin Templeton. These funds are vital not only for covering operational expenses but also for fueling the innovative Rent Now, Pay Later (RNPL) model.

Omar explains that Keyper's financing employs an 80/20 structure—80% debt and 20% equity. For instance, $30 million in debt is paired with $6 million in equity, creating a 20% equity cushion. This means that if up to 20% of the financed rent payments default, the equity would absorb the losses, safeguarding lenders from impact.​ 

With a current default rate of just 0.7%, the company is well-positioned for its next funding round, in which it plans to raise an additional $10 million. Raising more funds would pave the way for Keyper to scale further and potentially reach unicorn status, with plans to break even by the first half of 2026.

Advice for Founders

Reflecting on his journey, Omar shares several key lessons for emerging entrepreneurs, particularly those in the MENA region. He emphasizes the importance of tackling big problems rather than niche ones. “It's crucial to think about the long-term impact and scalability of the business from the start.”

He also stresses the need for continuous fundraising—“founders should start preparing for the next round as soon as one closes to maintain momentum and runway”. 

Lastly, adaptability is key—startups move fast, and success often depends on being nimble, smart, and willing to pivot when needed.

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