SBI Holdings Co-Leads Funding in Saudi Sharia-Compliant Microfinance Startup
Japanese financial conglomerate SBI Holdings is accelerating its expansion into the Middle East, co-leading an investment in the Saudi Arabian digital microfinance startup Muhlah Zamaniyah for Finance.
Executing the deal through a subsidiary, SBI partnered with Riyadh-based startup studio BIM Ventures as co-lead investors. The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.
Muhlah, which was incubated and spun out of BIM Ventures' startup creation program, is a fully digitized personal microfinance platform. Licensed by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), the fintech firm allows users to complete the entire lending process—from application to the execution of funds—entirely online.
Crucially for the regional market, Muhlah’s product offerings are strictly Sharia-compliant, operating under the direct supervision of a specialized Islamic finance committee.
The investment marks a concrete step in a developing relationship between the Japanese financial giant and the Saudi venture builder. In May 2024, with the backing of the Saudi Ministry of Investment (MISA), SBI and BIM Ventures signed a basic agreement to establish a joint venture and launch a co-managed investment fund. Today's funding into Muhlah is the first major collaborative deployment of capital stemming from that alliance.
The move aligns with Saudi Arabia’s broader macroeconomic overhaul. Under the Kingdom's aggressive economic diversification policies, there is a concerted governmental push to modernize the financial sector, drive financial inclusion, and scale technology-driven consumer finance.
For SBI Holdings, led by Chairman and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao, the strategic backing of Muhlah is a calculated play. The company stated that the investment will further strengthen its cooperative ties with BIM Ventures while laying down a medium-to-long-term foundation for capturing future financial business opportunities within the Kingdom.
Norbert Gehrke
