Saudi’s Manafa raises $28m in Series A funding

Saudi Arabia-based debt and investment company Manafa announced raising $28 million in a Series A funding round co-anchored by STV and Wa’ed Ventures.

In a statement, Manafa said it will use the fresh funds to accelerate its growth in Saudi Arabia and expand its offering with the launch of several products and financing solutions in addition to double the number of investors on its platform.

“Manafa is planning to launch a new set of products that tackles the quick access to financing and capital, and empowers small and medium enterprises to fuel their growth,” said Abdulaziz Al Adwani, founder and chief executive of Manafa Capital.

Manafa was founded in 2018 by Abdulaziz Al-Adwan and Arm Murad. It provides financial products tailored to fulfill the needs of small and medium enterprises in various sectors by offering debt and equity financing based on a crowdfunding model.

The said model allows institutional investors like financial institutions and investment funds or individual investors to access SMEs financing opportunities through debt and equity securities.

So far, the company has funded more than 180 SMEs, with total funding of more than SAR1.5 billion through its platforms, with the participation of more than 100,000 retail and institutional investors.

The company is licensed by the Saudi Central Bank and the Saudi Capital Market Authority. It aims to bridge SME financing gaps by arranging investment from a larger segment of local retail and institutional investors.

Dhahran-based Wa’ed Ventures is a $200 million institutional venture capital firm wholly owned by Saudi Aramco to promote economic diversification and new business expansion in the kingdom by investing in high-growth tech start-ups across various sectors. Established in 2014, Wa’ed Ventures manages a portfolio of more than 40 start-ups.