- Funding Round Success: Lendo, a Saudi-based business lending marketplace, has secured $28 million in a Series B funding round led by Sanabil Investments, a subsidiary of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
- Market Expansion Plans: The funding will be utilized to introduce new financing products, support existing customers, and facilitate Lendo’s expansion into new markets.
- Financial Overview: Lendo, founded in December 2019, has raised a total of $35.2 million in funding, combining the recent Series B with the earlier Series A funding round in March 2021.
- Investor Involvement: Besides Sanabil Investments, other key investors in the funding round include Shorooq Partners and AB Ventures.
- Company Goals: Lendo aims to launch new Shariah-compliant products and, in the coming years, pursue a stock market flotation.
- Vision 2030 Alignment: The company seeks to contribute to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 economic goals by powering the growth of the region’s SME community and increasing SME-specific lending from 4% to 20% by 2030.
- Operational Highlights: Lendo claims to have processed over 2,500 financing transactions on its peer-to-peer (P2P) Shariah-compliant platform, including $300 million in SME financing and $37 million in investor returns.
- Industry Perspective: Lendo’s co-founder and COO, Mohamed Jawabri, sees a significant opportunity in the growing demand for alternative, agile, and accessible lending solutions in the region.
