Saudi regulators have licensed two fintech companies, growing the Kingdom’s Shariah fintech service providers.
One of the two companies is Trh Capital Company, which was granted a Financial Technology Experimental Permit by the Capital Market Authority to test offering and investment in debt instruments.
Founded last year, Trh facilitates companies to issue Sukuk while offering an opportunity to retail investors to invest in Sukuk.
The other company is Alhulul AlMubassatah Financial Company (SiFi), a Riyadh-based spend management solutions provider. SiFi secured a license from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) to provide e-wallet solutions, bringing the number of licensed payment service providers in the Kingdom to 25, in addition to the seven firms which have secured initial approval to operate within SAMA’s regulatory sandbox.
Founded in 2021 by Ahmed AlHakbani, SiFi closed an undisclosed pre-seed funding round last year. The round was led by Khwarizmi Ventures, with participation from Breyer Capital and angel investors.
SiFi provides SMEs and startups with financial management solutions, including the ability to issue virtual and physical corporate cards, manage spending and automate expense reporting.
Saudi authorities have been active in licensing new digital players in line with the government’s national fintech strategy to raise the number of fintech companies in Saudi Arabia to 230 by 2025 from 82 in 2022. The Kingdom also intends to raise the share of digital payment transactions to 70% by 2025 as per the strategy.