Hakbah closes $2m Pre-series A funding round

By Leandra Monteiro

Hakbah, the Saudi-based FinTech savings platform, announced its successful closing of a $2 million, pre-Series A, funding round.

Global Ventures, one of MENA’s leading venture capital firms and DIFC-based Aditum Investment Management participated in the round, providing Hakbah with its first institutional capital. The funding follows approval granted by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

Proceeds will be used to accelerate Hakbah’s presence in Saudi Arabia, improve the user journey, and enhance its savings engine algorithm to optimally serve customers seeking to save in an innovative, accessible manner, with a social impact.

Naif AbuSaida, Founder of Hakbah, said, “We are proud to have two strong financial institutions, Global Ventures and Aditum, as our primary investors. They share our values, vision, and ambition to elevate the savings industry to the next level. Savings are an important pillar of the Financial Sector Development Program and increasing them is a key focus for Saudi Vision 2030.”

“Hakbah will play a key role in supporting this goal by widening its savings offering and partnerships for employees, gig-workers, students, housewives, and many others.”

Noor Sweid, Managing Partner of Global Ventures, commented, “While savings groups are the most popular form of alternative borrowing for unbanked groups in emerging economies, various pain points still define the user experience. These include inefficiencies in identifying and managing savings groups, to a lack of transparency, flexibility and consistency in payments. Hakbah is stepping in to digitize the $6 billion ROSCA market in Saudi Arabia, and the wider region. We are thrilled to partner with Naif and the team on their mission to modernize financial savings and boost financial inclusion in the Kingdom and beyond.”

Hakbah’s platform provides access to finance via savings in a legal and digital way; elevating traditional savings behaviour; enabling users to save for purpose; and increasing financial inclusion and literacy. Savings Groups are a popular and traditional savings behaviour in over 60 countries worldwide.