Fina and Joa Capital Launch SAR 500M Fund to Close Saudi SME Financing Gap

Fina, the embedded finance arm of SILQ, has launched a SAR 500 million direct financing fund in partnership with Joa Capital to address Saudi Arabia’s SME credit gap. By integrating liquidity directly into B2B procurement and payment workflows, the initiative aims to scale corporate finance solutions across the Kingdom’s rapidly evolving digital commerce ecosystem.

What was announced

The Fina Fund is a direct financing vehicle managed by Joa Capital, a Riyadh-based alternative asset manager. The fund is licensed by the Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) and carries a target size of SAR 500 million. It is specifically designed to provide corporate finance solutions to the broader B2B ecosystem in Saudi Arabia, focusing on procurement, supplier payments, and receivables.

The launch addresses a significant liquidity disparity in the region. While Saudi Arabia aims for SME financing to reach 20% of total bank loans by 2030, current figures show it at 11.3% as of 2025. Estimates suggest the total SME financing gap remains approximately SAR 400 billion. Fina’s approach involves embedding capital access into daily business operations rather than requiring separate, traditional banking applications. By bringing liquidity closer to where businesses operate, the platform aims to reduce the cost to serve while making capital access more scalable.

The fund represents an expansion of Fina’s existing operations. Originally developed to serve the Sary merchant network, the technology has already facilitated more than SAR 2 billion in trade liquidity. This new vehicle allows Fina to extend its data-driven credit capabilities to businesses outside its initial ecosystem, provided they meet the fund’s eligibility criteria and terms. The partnership leverages Joa Capital’s expertise in credit investment management alongside Fina’s proprietary technology and connectivity within the Saudi B2B market.

"Behind every business is a merchant working hard every day to buy, sell and grow. Our focus is to bring liquidity closer to that workflow, making access simpler and more connected to how businesses actually operate. The new fund gives Fina the capacity to serve more businesses, unlock more opportunities for growth, and contribute to a healthier and more productive economy."

Mohammed Aldossary, Co-founder and CEO, SILQ, Financial Services.

The companies involved

Fina operates as the B2B embedded finance business under the SILQ umbrella. SILQ was formed through the merger of Sary, a Saudi-based B2B marketplace, and ShopUp, a commerce platform. The entity was established to remove friction from B2B commerce, with Fina specifically handling the liquidity and credit aspects of the trade cycle. Before the merger, Sary focused on transforming how merchants in the Middle East sourced and purchased inventory. Fina has since evolved into a dedicated financing arm, building a technology stack that uses merchant data to assess working capital needs and provide trade liquidity.

Joa Capital is an established alternative asset manager headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The firm specializes in credit investment management and is licensed by the Capital Market Authority to manage investment funds and provide corporate finance services. By partnering with fintech platforms like Fina, Joa Capital provides the regulatory and fund management framework necessary to deploy institutional-grade capital into the SME sector. This collaboration bridges the gap between traditional asset management and the high-velocity data environments of modern B2B marketplaces.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has tracked the rapid scaling of SILQ’s financial infrastructure throughout 2026. In August, the company reached a major milestone when SILQ Secures $100M Financing to Scale Fina’s Embedded Finance Infrastructure for SMEs. This followed a significant influx of Shariah-compliant capital in July, as Fina Secures $75M Shariah-Compliant Facility from Fasanara Capital to Scale Saudi SME Lending. Earlier that same month, the group attracted international private credit interest when Gemcorp Enters Saudi Arabia with $20M Shariah-Compliant Private Credit Deal for SILQ. These previous capital raises laid the groundwork for the current SAR 500 million fund launch.

What this means

This move signals a shift in the Saudi fintech landscape from simple payment processing toward sophisticated, data-led credit deployment. By targeting a SAR 400 billion gap, Fina and Joa Capital are challenging traditional banks that have struggled to meet the 2030 Vision targets for SME lending. The reliance on "workflow-embedded" liquidity suggests that the industry is moving away from collateral-heavy lending toward real-time, transaction-based underwriting. For the wider sector, this puts pressure on traditional lenders to digitize their credit assessment processes or risk losing the most active B2B segments to specialized embedded finance vehicles that can offer capital at the point of need.