The global spend management sector is experiencing something of a tailwind. While North America is undoubtedly the largest market in the sector, rising internet penetration, technological advancements, and businesses' increased focus on smart spending are increasing the demand for spend management companies around the world.
In fact, according to Grand View Research, the sector is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 10.3% through 2030, with adoption expected to increase in other regions such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) as businesses increasingly adopt expense management tools to gain greater visibility into how their funds are being spent.
Saudi Arabia-based Simplified Financial Solutions Company (SiFi), one of the leading spend management platforms in the MENA region, has raised $10 million in a seed funding round to bolster its growth plans in the domestic market. The round was led by Sanabil Investments, a member of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and RAED Ventures, an early-stage MENA venture capital firm.
Founded in 2021 by Ahmed Al Haqbani, SiFi helps organizations manage all spending including vendor and invoice payments and is looking to expand after receiving an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Saudi Arabian Central Bank (SAMA) last year. The company plans to leverage the license to offer a suite of services including e-wallets and smart corporate cards.
Al-Haqbani told TechCrunch he was inspired to start SiFi while working as head of customs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he saw how fragmented expense management was across headquarters and the kingdom's points of entry, making it doubly difficult to track and control spending and even leaving room for fraud.
Ahmed Alhaqbani, founder of SiFi. Image courtesy of SiFiImage courtesy of SiFi
SiFi's product allows customers to manage corporate card usage and limit spending at a merchant or geographic level. The platform also allows employees to submit reimbursement requests, expenses, and invoices, especially if they don't use the corporate card.
Al-Haqbani said the platform will help businesses avoid spend management issues such as human error, fraud, lack of proper workflow, delayed approvals, lack of visibility into spend, etc. “We believe SiFi can play a critical role in helping finance departments significantly improve their ability to serve the entire company. We want to expand beyond just expenses to a full suite of spend solutions within the enterprise,” he said.
He said SiFi is building a solution that can scale beyond Saudi Arabia, as its technology stack allows for integration into any market, but noted that it is also targeting growth outside of the Kingdom.
SiFi's competitors in the MENA region include Saudi Arabia's Sanad, UAE-based Pemo, which raised a large seed round in 2022, and Alaan.
Other investors who participated in SiFi's seed round include anb seed, Rua Ventures, Byld, KBW ventures, and existing VCs Khwarizmi Ventures, Seedra Ventures, and Tech Invest Com.
SiFi joins a growing list of Saudi Arabian startups that have raised significant funding this year amid a global decline in venture capital activity. The country continues to lead the way in venture investment in the MENA region, driven by government efforts to create a favorable environment for innovators and businesses as it seeks to diversify revenue sources and reduce reliance on oil.