Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – RIFD, the first Saudi-born platform enabling Shariah-compliant securitization of SME trade receivables, has secured a strategic investment from Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm.
**This milestone supports RIFD’s mission to establish Saudi Arabia’s first Shariah-compliant securitization infrastructure—**lowering financing costs for SMEs while unlocking risk-adjusted, high-quality returns for institutional investors in a largely untapped asset class.
The investment follows RIFD’s recent selection by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) into the prestigious Tech Champions 5 program, reinforcing its status as one of the Kingdom’s most promising fintech startups.
“SME credit in Saudi Arabia surpassed SAR 351.7 billion in Q4 2024, growing over 27.6% year-on-year. Yet, receivables-based financing still accounts for less than 6%,” said Abdulrahman Aldakheel, CEO of RIFD.
“This billion-riyal gap is a massive opportunity. At RIFD, we’re building the infrastructure to unlock this capital—driving SME growth while offering institutional investors secure, Shariah-compliant exposure to real economic value. With Antler’s backing, we are poised to scale our vision across Saudi Arabia and the wider region,” he added.
Antler’s investment not only validates RIFD’s model globally but also brings operational expertise, strategic partnerships, and access to a world-class network of follow-on investors experienced in scaling high-growth startups.
With its first pilot transaction underway, multiple institutional partnerships in development, and solid backing from Antler and MCIT’s Tech Champions program, RIFD is quickly emerging as a leading player in the Kingdom’s financial transformation.
