Funding Souq
Debt crowdfunding platform founded in 2020 that connects established SMEs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia with investors through Shariah-compliant financing. It raised a 2.5 million dollar seed round in March 2022.
Industry: SME debt crowdfunding | Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Founded: 2020 | Total Funding: USD 2.5M
About Funding Souq
Funding Souq is a Shariah-compliant debt crowdfunding platform that connects established small and medium-sized businesses with investors. Investors lend to businesses through private-credit financing with monthly repayments of principal and profit, from a minimum of AED 1,000, while businesses receive financing, which the company says takes about three days to approve, without opening an account. It operates in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and runs a global site for other investors.
Martin Jaouni founded the company in late 2020 after working at PwC and in real estate private equity in London, and it expanded to Saudi Arabia in 2021. Its team includes Heba Al-Subhi as compliance lead and Reham Hadidi as credit risk manager. The Saudi entity's board is chaired by Omar Rebhan. The company lists an office at Fintech Hive in the Dubai International Financial Centre and a Riyadh office.
Funding Souq Limited is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority under licence F005822 and operates an Islamic window, with Shariah compliance certified by Dar Al Shariah. Client money is held in segregated accounts at United Arab Bank. Its Saudi website says it is licensed by the Saudi Central Bank, and TechScoop listed it in July 2026 among firms that moved from the central bank's regulatory sandbox into full licensed operation.
On 1 March 2022 Wamda reported that Funding Souq had closed a 2.5 million dollar seed round, which Forbes Middle East also covered. No lead investor was named. New angels included Amal Dokhan of 500 Global, Omar Aljeraisi and Christian Kunz, and existing backers Mazin Alzaidi, Musaab Hakami and IslamicFinanceGuru took part. Jaouni said the platform had financed 47 small businesses across Saudi Arabia and the UAE in its first 12 months and that it approved fewer than 9 percent of applicants.
Its statistics page, dated 30 September 2026, reports a weighted average expected default rate of about 2.3 percent and 15 defaulted loans since inception. Recently listed financings include AED 250,000 to AED 400,000 facilities for a diesel trader, a logistics company and a technology firm.
Leadership
- Martin Jaouni, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Heba Al-Subhi, Compliance Lead
- Reham Hadidi, Credit Risk Manager
- Omar Rebhan, Chairman (Saudi board)
- Amal Dokhan, Board member; Partner at 500 Global
- Suresh Lalwani, Board and advisor
- Musaab Hakami, Board and advisor; General Partner at VentureSouq