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Sovra has raised more than $2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by New York-based Pharsalus Capital. The round included participation from angel investors Karim Atiyeh, co-founder of Ramp, Hisham Al-Falih, co-founder of Lean Technologies, Hany Rashwan, co-founder of 21Shares, and Naguib Sawiris. The company, headquartered in the United States with a distributed team across the Middle East and Europe, will use the funds to expand its engineering and product teams ahead of a public launch. Sovra has opened a waitlist for prospective users.
Founder Background
Ahmad Wehbi is the founder and CEO of Sovra. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and a bachelor’s degree from the American University of Beirut. Between 2019 and 2021, he worked as a senior associate at McKinsey & Company, where he advised financial institutions and technology companies on strategy and growth in emerging markets. He founded Sovra in 2025.
Origin Story
Wehbi started Sovra after observing the effects of Lebanon’s 2019 banking crisis. During the crisis, banks imposed deposit restrictions, and the Lebanese pound lost more than 98 percent of its value. According to data from the U.S. Department of State and the Middle East Institute, customer deposits in Lebanon fell significantly between 2009 and 2024. Wehbi has stated that these events influenced his decision to build a financial platform that does not rely on traditional banks.
Sovra’s Platform
Sovra is a self-custodial platform that allows users to hold digital dollars, earn yield, send funds internationally, and make payments through cards compatible with Visa and Mastercard networks. In a self-custodial model, users maintain control of their assets without requiring approval or access from banks or other intermediaries. The company has stated that the platform is designed to operate independently of local banking systems.
Wehbi’s Views
In a June 2026 interview with Fintech Global, Wehbi said: “There has always been something between people and their money; a bank, a border, a fee, a policy, a form.” He has discussed the challenges of accessing stable value storage in markets affected by banking instability and currency volatility. Sovra’s model uses stablecoins to enable users to hold value outside of conventional financial institutions.
Funding and Next Steps
The company plans to use the recent funding to grow its engineering and product teams. It aims to launch services with an initial focus on the MENA region and later expand to additional markets. Sovra has indicated that it will continue developing features related to yield generation and payments while operating under a self-custodial structure.
