About Funding Souq

Funding Souq is the digital financing platform for SME’s in the Middle East. We provide business loans by connecting established SMEs with retail and institutional debt investors worldwide.

Led by a powerful purpose to enable regional SMEs to grow and prosper, our goal is to become the #1 SME enabler in the region. Funding Souq was established in September 2020 in Dubai and has quickly expanded to Saudi Arabia in early 2021.

Our Mission & Vision

Mission

On a mission is to fuel SME growth, create jobs and drive the economy forward.

Vision

Our vision is to provide SMEs with reliable funding solutions by leveraging the power of technology and financial markets.

We intend to contribute towards the following pillars of Vision 2030

Increasing the SME contributions to 35%.
Lowering the rate of unemployment from 11.6% to 7%.
Increasing women's participation in the workforce from 22% to 30%.

Our Board & Advisors

Sheikh Abdullah Al Sulmi

Sheikh Abdullah is one of our shareholders and advisors. He is currently on the Shariah Board of Rajhi Bank and is also a professor at Imam Mohammed ibn Saud University from where he holds a a PhD in Comparative Fiqh.

Omar Rebhan

Omar is the chairman of our board. Currently, he's the CEO of Tasaru Holding which is part of Yazeed Alrajhi & Brothers. Prior to that, he was the MD of Carriage in KSA. Omar holds MEng in Mechanical Engineering from California State University.

Amal Dokhan

Amal is a Global Partner of 500 Global, one of the world's most prestigious start-up accelerators and VC funds. Previously she was the CEO of the Global Entrepreneurship Network in Saudi Arabia. Amal holds a master’s degree in Strategic Marketing from the University of Wollongong.

Mariam Abdulsalam

Mariam joined the Kuwait Central Bank in 2012 and is currently a Deputy Manager of the Financial Stability Office. She holds a MSc in Finance from London Business School.

Our Leaders

Martin Jaouni

Founder & CEO

Martin launched Funding Souq in 2020 after having spent some time in PwC as a Senior Associate on the Deals teams. Prior to that, he used to work in Real Estate Private Equity in London. Martin holds an MSc in Finance from CASS Business School in London.

Abdulaziz Alwasel

IT Manager

Abdulaziz worked on several projects at STC and worked for the company for more than 5 years. Among his experiences during his work at the company, he worked as a Technical Project Manager and an Information Technology Project Manager. Abdulaziz holds a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering at KSU and a Mini-MBA Certificate - Leaders of Excellence in Harvard Field.

Feras Alshammari

Compliance Manager

Feras has worked 6 years in the Al Rajhi Bank, he has more than two years of experience in the field of compliance in the bank, in addition, he has more than 3 years of experience in the field of Teller. He holds a Bachelor's of Information Technology (Security and Networks) at AOU with a Professional Certificate-Certified Compliance Officer.

Reham Hadidi

Credit Risk Manager

Reham joined us with over 12 years of experience in the Islamic banking sector. Her most recent position was as a Senior Credit Officer specializing in corporate clients at Arab Islamic International Bank in Jordan. Reham holds an MSc in Accounting from Jordan University.

Shariah Compliance

Funding Souq offers Shariah-compliant investment and financing solutions. We are dedicated to following Islamic principles, with a Sharia Supervisory Board ensuring compliance.

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We are backed by investors and executives from