Saudi Arabia-based Shari’ah compliant fintech startup Lendo, has raised a $7.2 million Series A funding round (SAR 27 million), led by Derayah Ventures, with participation from Seedra, Shorooq Partners, 500 Startups and Impact46. 

Co-founded in 2019 by Osama AlRaee (CEO) and Mohammad Jawabri (COO), Lendo enables SMEs to digitally pre-finance their outstanding invoices. The platform also offers SMEs a limited option to borrow cash quickly and short-term options to gain higher returns for investors/lenders.

The company plans to use the fresh funds to deepen its platform capabilities as well as expand its sector-focused and solution-based product offerings.

“The additional investment helped us create more opportunities for Lendo to finance businesses during the challenging economic climate brought about by Covid-19. At Lendo, our strategy is to provide access to low-profit rate financing to SMEs and help funders receive better returns,” said Osama AlRaee, CEO and co-founder of Lendo.

Faris Alrashed, a lead investor, said: “The Lendo team has built a remarkable company which is evidenced by their performance especially during the initial months of Covid-19. Lendo is a powerful solution in the industry and its offering is well-timed with the rapidly increasing demand for financing solutions in the dynamic SME lending arena. We firmly believe in the founders and their unparalleled focus on execution, user experience, and scale.”

Lendo is licensed by SAMA (Saudi Central Bank) under the Sandbox Environment Programme.