The global spend management sector is experiencing a tailwind of sorts. While North America is arguably the largest market for this sector, spend management companies have seen growing demand globally due to rising internet penetration, technological advancements, and businesses' growing focus on smart spending.
In fact, according to Grand View Research, this space is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.3% through 2030, and adoption in other regions such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) will also increase as companies increasingly adopt the cost. It is expected. A management tool that gives you a clearer picture of where your money is going.
Saudi Arabia-based Simplified Financial Solutions Company (SiFi), one of the MENA region's leading spend management platforms, has now raised $10 million in an initial funding round to double its growth plans in the domestic market. The round was led by Sanabil Investments, a member of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, and RAED Ventures, an early-stage MENA VC.
Founded in 2021 by Ahmed Alhakbani, SiFi helps organizations manage all their spending, including suppliers and bill payments, and is looking to expand its business after receiving an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) last year. there is. . The company plans to use the license to provide a series of services such as electronic wallets and smart corporate cards.
Alhakbani told TechCrunch that he got the idea to start SiFi when he was serving as the head of customs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He saw first-hand how fragmented cost management was across headquarters and entry points in the kingdom. This makes it twice as difficult to track and control spending and even leaves room for misuse.
SiFi's products allow customers to control corporate card usage and limit spending at the merchant or regional level. The platform also allows employees, especially those who do not use a corporate card, to submit reimbursement requests, expenses, and invoices.
Alhakbani said the platform helps businesses avoid spend management issues such as human error, fraud, lack of proper workflow, approval delays and lack of spend visibility. “We believe SiFi can play a critical role in enabling finance departments to be much more effective in their ability to serve the rest of the company. We want to move beyond just expenses to a full suite of spend solutions within the company,” he said.
He said SiFi is building a solution that can scale beyond Saudi Arabia as its technology stack allows it to integrate into any market. However, he noted that growth outside Saudi Arabia would be the goal.
SiFi's competitors in the MENA region include Saudi's Sanad, UAE-based Pemo and Alaan, which have raised significant seed rounds in 2022.
Other investors who participated in SiFi's seed round include anb Seed, Rua Ventures, Byld and KBW Ventures, as well as existing VCs Khwarizmi Ventures, Seedra Ventures and Tech Invest Com.
SiFi joins a growing list of Saudi startups that have raised good funding this year even as VCs have scaled back activity globally. Vietnam continues to lead the MENA region in terms of venture investment, driven by the government's efforts to create a favorable environment for innovators and businesses to diversify revenue streams and reduce dependence on oil.
