Forus Capital, a Saudi Arabia-headquartered Islamic P2P lending marketplace, has secured funding via a Series A round (for an undisclosed amount).
As noted by its management:
“Forus Capital [is an] Islamic debt marketplace that enables investors to invest in a marketplace of alternative loans targeted towards small and medium businesses. Driven by Artificial Intelligence, our marketplace is providing investors with diversified alternative options to investing, while businesses are empowered with an opportunity to grow and scale.”
Forus’s management further notes that they aim to bridge the gap in SME financing, by offering businesses with “democratized, easy access to cash.” Forus explains that this is achieved by “minimizing friction, streamlining the customer experience, and providing a seamless, secure, and transparent platform.”
Forus Capital’s investment round has been led by Saudi conglomerate Yazeed Alrajhi and Brothers Holdings, along with contributions from Riyad Bank’s Riyad Fintech Fund. The proceeds from the round will be directed towards supporting innovation, as well as market and product development efforts.
Forus Capital is reportedly a Shariah-compliant debt marketplace that was established in 2019 by Nosaibah Alrajhi. The firm’s platform offers lending facilities in the SME debt market. The company revealed that it has provided more than $16 million in funding to 57 SMEs.
The firm’s API-powered underwriting tech has been developed to digitize the SME financing process, which makes the financing process more efficient and seamless.
Nosaibah Alrajhi, Founder and CEO at Forus Capital, stated:
“The debt market is witnessing an accelerated level of disruptions and Forus is keen to play a major role in that. This investment by such a sophisticated cohort of institutional investors serves as a testament of Forus trajectory as a major player in the Saudi P2P lending market and represents yet another vote of confidence in the evolving Saudi fintech scene.”
As mentioned on the firm’s website, Foras is a platform for technology in financial services, “officially registered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the name of Financial Business Opportunities Company (closed joint-stock company) and registered in the commercial registry in Riyadh with No. (1010475835).”