We are co-leading a $28m series A investment round in Manafa, Saudi Arabia’s leading debt and equity crowdfunding company. Manafa offers a wide range of financial products permitted by the Saudi Central Bank and the Saudi Capital Market Authority, to finance SMEs.
As active venture capital investors, we have witnessed firsthand the inadequacy of financing solutions for SMEs by traditional banks and other financiers. On the other side, retail and institutional investors lack the accessibility to large and critical asset classes like Sukuk, trading papers and SME equities in an efficient manner. The high cost structures and small ticket size of SME financing contributed to financiers hesitation to serve the sector in the Kingdom, leading to a huge funding gap of $80 billion, according to estimates by the the General Authority of Small and Medium Enterprises.
The debt-to-revenue ratio for SME’s in the Kingdom is about one-third of G20 average. The lack of credit significantly constrains the SMEs ability to grow and contribute to the economic targets set by Vision 2030.
Source: IFC and World Bank methodology, Orbis database, STV Analysis
Manafa built a technology platform that matches financing demand with financing supply. Indeed, on one side the platform serves SMEs and larger companies looking to access credit and equity financing. On the other side, it serves retail and institutional investors willing to deploy capital into fast-growing Saudi SMEs. Manafa's technology offers a fully integrated and digital experience that allows SMEs to obtain credit in record time and investors to access high-yield opportunities through a click. In 2018, Manafa was the first platform to launch equity financing products for Saudi SMEs. It then launched debt financing in 2020. Since then, the company has launched a number of investment products including long-term financing, investment robo-advisory and investment fund's distribution. To date, Manafa has cumulatively facilitated over SAR 1.5b in financing to over 180 companies in the Kingdom.
Behind Manafa's continuous success is a team of talents in finance, investments and advisory led by Abdulaziz Al-Adwani and Eng. Amr Murad. Such a team has consistently proved an exceptional ability to anticipate the market needs and to address them by developing tailored products serving multiple sectors under various legislative frameworks.
Manafa is the leading Saudi fintech and we look forward to supporting the company and its founder Abdulaziz in their mission to unlock the financing potential for Saudi SMEs and other players. We are also excited to co-lead this round alongside Wa'ed Venture, the VC arm of Saudi Aramco.
In case you're a company owner/executive and want to access different equity and debt financing options digitally and in record time, apply here. If you are a young talent and would like to join a leading team in the fintech sector, apply here.