Hakbah, the Saudi-based fintech savings platform has secured $2 million pre-Series A funding round led by Global Ventures – Mena’s leading venture capital firm and DIFC-based Aditum Investment Management providing Hakbah with its first institutional capital.
The funding which follows approval granted by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA),will be used to accelerate Hakbah’s presence in Saudi Arabia, improve the user journey, and enhance its savings engine algorithm – to optimally serve customers seeking to save in an innovative, accessible manner, with a social impact.
Naif AbuSaida, Founder of Hakbah, said: “We are proud to have two strong financial institutions, Global Ventures and Aditum, as our primary investors. They share our values, vision, and ambition to elevate the savings industry to the next level. Savings are an important pillar of the Financial Sector Development Programme and increasing them is a key focus for Saudi Vision 2030.”
“Hakbah will play a key role in supporting this goal by widening its savings offering and partnerships for employees, gig-workers, students, housewives, and many others.”
Hakbah is one of the fastest-growing companies in the region. Organic growth in 2022 was over 20x, as it helped 18,000 customers save over $35 million. Hakbah strengthens financial inclusion via social savings, and a solid value proposition – which has driven unprecedented demand from 120,000 active, verified and ready-to-serve customers on its platform.
Hakbah is tackling the Middle East savings crisis; innovatively digitising financial habits, and leveraging data, needs and behaviours. In Saudi Arabia, 70 per cent of Saudis do not have emergency savings, with the household savings rate averaging 1.6 per cent only.
Noor Sweid, Managing Partner of Global Ventures, commented: “While savings groups are the most popular form of alternative borrowing for unbanked groups in emerging economies, various pain points still define the user experience. These include inefficiencies in identifying and managing savings groups, to a lack of transparency, flexibility and consistency in payments. Hakbah is stepping in to digitise the $6 billion ROSCA market in Saudi Arabia and the wider region. We are thrilled to partner with Naif and the team on their mission to modernize financial savings and boost financial inclusion in the Kingdom and beyond.”
Lachlan Hughes, Head of Venture Capital at Aditum Investment Management, said: “We are thrilled to partner with Hakbah in their mission to drive financial inclusion and promote savings in the Gulf region. The powerful combination of Hakbah’s exceptional user experience, sophisticated back-end technology and partnerships with leading regional brands will empower millions of users to meet their savings goals. We are impressed with Naif’s vision and leadership and look forward to supporting Hakbah as they continue to scale and make a meaningful impact in the region.”
Hakbah’s platform provides access to finance via savings in a legal and digital way; elevating traditional savings behaviour; enabling users to save for purpose; and increasing financial inclusion and literacy. Savings Groups are a popular and traditional savings behaviour in over 60 countries worldwide.