Saudi Islamic fintech start-up Rabeh is expecting to secure a full license from the Capital Market Authority (CMA) imminently, IFN Fintech has learned.
Founded in 2022, Rabeh offers Shariah compliant investment opportunities through its equity crowdfunding platform. It is currently operating under the supervision of the CMA and Saudi Central Bank as part of their sandboxes.
The start-up raised funds for six projects last year and generated a US$250,000 profit, which was channeled back into the company, Founder and CEO Mohammed Alsolami told IFN Fintech. The platform currently has 30 companies in its pipeline, with 10 projects slated to go live this year; it forecasts a US$3 million profit for 2024.
According to Mohammed, Rabeh is intensifying its activities to expand its reach to investors within and outside the Kingdom by launching several new technical features including a user-friendly interface, multilingual support and integration with payment gateways to facilitate global transactions.
The start-up plans to roll out targeted marketing campaigns and strategic partnerships to widen its investor base.
“Also, Rabeh is innovating its own blockchain infrastructure to operate all type of sensations and workflow with most advanced technologies,” according to Mohammed.
The start-up in March raised SAR3 million (US$799,458) in pre-seed funding from Mjalis Investment Company and angel investors, bringing its valuation to SAR30 million (US$7.99 million).
Mohamed shared that Rabeh employs several strategies to create a secondary market to enhance activities such as exchanging ownership, knowledge, and consultancy.
“We are currently building on technologies such as blockchain to facilitate secure and transparent transactions. Additionally, we employ progressive risk management tools and give investors and entrepreneurs full access to expert advice to reduce risks and increase their success rates.”