Saudi startup SiFi secures $10 million in seed funding for its expenditure management platform

In the heart of the Middle East, the spend management fintech landscape is undergoing a transformative phase. Businesses in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are increasingly seeking more efficient and transparent solutions for expense management, according to Omar Almajdouie, Founding Partner at Raed Ventures.

One such fintech company making waves in this growing market is SiFi, founded by Ahmed Alhakbani, who previously served as Governor of Saudi Customs and Saudi’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade. SiFi recently secured an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), a testament to its credibility and potential.

SiFi's platform empowers stakeholders within companies to make informed decisions at the right time while providing finance teams with the tools they need to effectively enforce company spend policies. The platform allows companies to issue Mastercard corporate (virtual and physical) cards to employees, which can be used anywhere in the world. These cards come with spend limits and different controls like category and security restrictions.

SiFi also offers reimbursement management through its platform, enabling employees to submit reimbursement requests by snapping receipts and tracking the status on the app. The platform will soon add automatic reconciliation with direct integrations for leading accounting software.

The company's recent seed round of $10 million was led by a group of esteemed investors including Sanabil Investments, Raed Ventures, ANB seed, Rua Ventures, Byld Ventures, and KBW Ventures. SiFi plans to use the latest funds to fuel its growth.

SiFi is not alone in this rapidly expanding market. Dubai-based Pluto and Qashio are also serving clients in Saudi. Qashio, another competitor, has partnered with a Saudi bank but, like SiFi, there's no detailed information about their operations in Saudi on their website.

The current market for spend management fintech solutions in Saudi Arabia and the GCC is experiencing strong growth driven by significant investments and strategic partnerships, especially around AI-enabled financial automation and corporate spend control. This growth is reflected in the recent $48 million Series A funding raised by Alaan, a GCC-based fintech offering an integrated spend management platform.

The broader fintech investment climate in the GCC is robust, with firms like Partners for Growth committing nearly $400 million regionally, including support for fintechs aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 and related economic transformation initiatives.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) fintech market, which includes Saudi Arabia and the GCC, is projected to grow from USD 18.07 billion in 2024 to over USD 103 billion by 2033 at a CAGR of 21.4%. This sets a favorable ecosystem for spend management fintech platforms to scale rapidly.

In summary, the spend management fintech market in Saudi Arabia and the GCC is rapidly expanding due to a combination of strong regional fintech investment, aligned economic visions (like Saudi Vision 2030), the adoption of AI-driven automation in finance operations, and increasing demand for cashless, digital corporate financial management tools. Leading players like Alaan and SiFi embody these trends with recent major funding and planned regional expansion.

[1] Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/companies/400680-peak-xv-partners-leads-48m-series-a-round-for-gcc-spend-management-startup-alaan [2] Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/companies/400484-partners-for-growth-invests-nearly-400m-in-gcc-fintechs [3] Source: https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/press-releases/company-announcements/the-mena-fintech-market-to-reach-usd-103-billion-by-2033-growing-at-a-cagr-of-21-4-according-to-reportlinker-n-a-zawya-1000139688/ [4] Source: https://www.arabianbusiness.com/companies/400484-partners-for-growth-invests-nearly-400m-in-gcc-fintechs [5] Source: https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/21218/global-fintech-investment-trends-2025

Saudi startup SiFi secures $10 million in seed funding for its expenditure management platform