Riyadh-based fintech and proptech company Safqah Capital has raised $15.2 million in an oversubscribed seed round that it describes as one of the largest pure equity seed financings in Saudi Arabia. The round drew participation from more than 12 institutional and venture investors, led by anb Seed Fund, Shorooq, and Rua Growth Fund, with additional participation from Sharaka Capital, COTU Ventures, Sadu Capital, 500 Global, Suhail Ventures, MEVP, Waad Invest, JOA Capital, and others.
Safqah is positioning itself as an infrastructure platform for Saudi Arabia’s real estate development ecosystem, targeting the capital access gap for small and midsize developers who build much of the Kingdom’s housing and commercial supply. While marquee giga projects have attracted global attention, Safqah’s thesis is that delivery across the broader market is constrained by slow, rigid, and collateral-intensive bank processes that can extend approval cycles and strain working capital.
In its first 18 months, Safqah says it has financed more than 70 development projects totaling more than $800 million across Saudi Arabia. The company reports a zero default track record to date, with loans collateralized at 248% or more and disbursed through a milestone-based framework tied to project execution.
Safqah’s core product is a Shariah-compliant debt financing solution for SME developers, a segment it argues has been historically underserved by traditional lenders. The company says it is authorized by Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority for offering and enabling investment in debt instruments, and it is building a platform that combines real estate underwriting, structured financing, and developer centric software into a single workflow that includes funding, monitoring, documentation, and execution support.
Beyond financing, Safqah is emphasizing data and AI-driven tooling intended to strengthen monitoring, improve underwriting and risk assessment, and increase transparency for both developers and investors. The platform offers developers a portal to manage projects and capital, while providing investors access to diversified opportunities supported by structured underwriting and reporting.
Safqah says the new funding will be used to enhance its product suite and digital platform, develop more sophisticated AI tools for risk assessment and underwriting, and expand financing capacity to meet rising demand by increasing both the size and number of funded projects. The company is also framing its growth opportunity within the scale of Saudi Arabia’s real estate and infrastructure pipeline, which it cites as exceeding $1.1 trillion, requiring faster capital formation and execution across thousands of projects.
The founding team brings experience spanning software, real estate development, and public market processes. CEO and co-founder Abdullah Alsubaie is described as a seasoned entrepreneur and software engineer. Co founders include Karim Merie, chief business officer and a veteran of NHC, Abdulmalik Alothman, chief financial officer who played a key role in the IPO of ELM, and Omar Alessa, chief technology officer with startup experience across Silicon Valley and London.
KEY QUOTES:
“Banks were not built for developers — we were. We’ve engineered an ecosystem where developers can access capital faster, accelerate project delivery, and improve capital efficiency while strengthening monitoring and risk controls for all stakeholders.”
Abdullah Alsubaie, Co-Founder And CEO, Safqah Capital
“We are very pleased to co-lead the investment in Safqah, as part of our commitment to supporting technology-enabled financial platforms that contribute to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. Safqah brings together technological innovation and strong credit governance to deliver more efficient and transparent financing solutions for real estate developers across the region. We believe the company is well positioned to support the evolution of the real estate and financial services sectors, enhance capital market efficiency, and contribute to sustainable economic growth in Saudi Arabia.”
Khalid S. Alghamdi, CEO, anb capital
“Safqah is not another lending platform — it’s foundational infrastructure. They’ve built a model designed for the pace of development in Saudi Arabia while meeting regulatory standards and the expectations of institutional investors. We see Safqah Capital becoming an indispensable part of the country’s real estate machine.”
Shane Shin, Founding Partner, Shorooq
Turki Aljoieb, General Partner at Rua added “Safqah is unlocking one of the most critical bottlenecks in Saudi Arabia’s real estate market by expanding access to structured, Sharia-compliant financing for small and medium developers. By enabling efficient project execution and scalable housing delivery, Safqah supports national affordability objectives and advances Vision 2030 homeownership targets, while providing investors with disciplined access to long-term, asset-backed exposure to the Kingdom’s real estate sector.”
Turki Aljoieb, General Partner, Rua Growth Fund
