Funding Souq is a regulated entity by the DFSA and in turn, has a Business Cessation Plan that is reviewed on an annual basis. As a Category 4 license holder, Funding Souq is required to have a minimum capital commitment which will be resorted to if the business was to cease trading. If the business ceases to trade the uninvested funds will be returned to the respective investors’ bank accounts. Also, a repayment schedule and an outstanding payment statement will be sent to you within 5 working days. All existing financing contracts will remain valid, and legally binding and installments will continue to be collected as projected.
Investors are not charged any fees.
Borrowers get charged an origination fee that is dependent on the riskiness of the underlying business and the tenure of the finance. The fee varies from a one-off of 2-5%. Funding Souq doesn’t charge any additional fees.
The platform acts as a marketplace for investors looking to invest their money and businesses seeking funding. Investors can register on the website and if approved they will be allowed to deposit funds onto the platform or invest in businesses directly. As the businesses repay, the investor can choose whether to re-invest or withdraw their funds. Businesses seeking to borrow funds can go through the registration process and, if successful, will be asked to provide supporting documents. Once received, Funding Souq will conduct extensive due diligence on the underlying business and in turn either approve or reject the financing request. If approved, a fundraising campaign will be launched, and approved investors will have the option to finance the request. Conditional to the finance request being fully funded, the funds will be released and sent to the business. Funding Souq will manage the repayment process and facilitate installments made by the borrowers to the corresponding investors.
Funding Souq is a crowdfunding platform that connects established businesses with investors. The platform uses technology to connect both parties through the principle of crowdfunding, - i.e. raising small amounts of funds from many individuals.