Sokin Wins DFSA Licence, Plans to Grow UAE Team to 100

The licence lets businesses receive dirhams into a Sokin AED account. Platform partners also get embedded local payment rails across more than 70 other currencies.

Businesses move more than $11 billion a year through Sokin's licences and infrastructure, across 70 currencies and 170 countries. Founded in 2019, the company holds licences in 36 countries and runs eight offices. It has raised more than $100 million from investors including Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and Prysm Capital. It began as a consumer business before switching to business-to-business payments.

Ferdinand, an early investor, said simplicity won him over. "Vroon (Sokin founder) explained what, in my mind, was a complicated sector, very simplistically," he said. "I've seen in many different industries that if you can simplify some sector, you have a huge opportunity to create a big business."

The way the founder handled the move away from consumer payments strengthened his conviction. "He showed his true worth in that moment when there was a pivot," Ferdinand said. "That resilience and that assuredness reinforced why I invested in him."

His role goes beyond writing a cheque, he said. He and his team work on partnerships for the company and took talks with Manchester United through to contract stage and execution. United announced the Sokin deal on August 14, 2025.

Ferdinand said he applies firm rules to his investments. "Don't get too emotional or attached to the idea," he said. "If you've got a terrible founder, that idea could be the best in the world, but it won't work." He expects failures to outnumber wins and hopes the winners hit big.

"I don't invest in just things that I'm passionate about," he said. "I do invest quite cold in terms of what I think is going to make money." In sport, he is starting a wellness, longevity and fitness business with his wife.

Ferdinand said his second career as an entrepreneur could become bigger than his first. Asked whether he would rather be remembered as a football legend or an entrepreneur, he answered "Both." But the pitch still excites him more than the boardroom: "On the pitch, 100%," he said.

He has made Dubai his home and said the city's culture of backing entrepreneurs appeals to him. "What I like about being here in Dubai is that people open up their networks to help," he said.