Saudi fintech HALA has announced raising $157 million in a Series B funding round co-anchored by TPG’s The Rise Fund and Sanabil Investments, a unit of the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund.
The round, which HALA said is one of the Middle East’s largest fintech Series Bs, will fund the startup’s expansion into lending products and regional markets, per the announcement.
A host of investors, including QED Investors, Raed Ventures, Impact 46, Middle East Venture Partners, Isometry Capital, Arzan VC, BNVT Capital, Kaltaire Investments, Endeavor Catalyst, Nour Nouf Ventures, Khwarizmi Ventures, and Wamda Capital, also participated in the funding round.
The investment is the Rise Fund’s first in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East.
HALA, founded by Esam Alnahdi and Maher Loubieh, said it has grown to serve more than 142,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), processing over $8 billion in transactions annually through its suite of embedded financial services.
It offers business accounts, card issuance, payment and transfer services, and point-of-sale solutions.
“The landmark investment is a turning point for HALA, reflecting on our relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence in serving small businesses,” said Esam Alnahdi, the company’s co-founder and chairman.
The SME sector accounts for up to 99% of private businesses in Saudi Arabia and contributes an estimated $310-$375 billion to gross domestic product annually, according to government data cited by HALA.
Yemi Lalude, partner at TPG and head of Europe, Middle East and Africa for the Rise Funds, said HALA was “uniquely positioned to empower micro and small businesses, a key pillar in the region’s economy, by delivering a broad and growing set of payment solutions.”
San Francisco-based TPG, one of the world’s largest alternative asset managers with $261 billion under management, invests across private equity, credit, real estate, and impact strategies.
Its Rise Fund now manages about $29 billion, making it the world’s biggest platform of its kind, pursuing both competitive returns and measurable social outcomes.
