The global spend management sector is experiencing a significant tailwind of growth, driven by increasing internet penetration, technological advancements, and businesses’ focus on prudent spending. North America is the largest market in this space, but spend management companies have seen demand rise worldwide, with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region expected to follow suit.
Key Trends and Growth Drivers
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR): The spend management sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.3% by 2030, according to Grand View Research.
MENA Adoption: Companies in the MENA region are increasingly adopting expense management tools to gain better visibility into their spending.
Saudi Arabia’s Growth: Saudi Arabia-based Simplified Financial Solutions Company (SiFi) has raised $10 million in a seed funding round to expand its operations in the country.
SiFi’s Growth Plans and Competitors
SiFi, founded in 2021 by Ahmed Alhakbani, helps organizations manage all their spending, including vendor and bill payments. The company received the Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) last year and is planning to tap this license to provide a suite of services, including e-wallets and smart corporate cards.
SiFi’s competitors in the MENA region include Saudi’s Sanad, UAE-based Pemo, which raised a significant seed round in 2022, and Alaan. Other investors that participated in SiFi’s seed round include anb Seed, Rua Ventures, Byld and KBW Ventures, and existing VCs Khwarizmi Ventures, Seedra Ventures, and Tech Invest Com.
SiFi’s Product and Competitive Advantage
SiFi’s product allows customers to control their corporate cards’ usage and limit expenditures at the merchant or geographic levels. The platform also enables employees to submit reimbursement requests, expenses, and invoices. Alhakbani believes that SiFi can play a crucial role in enabling finance departments to become more effective in their ability to serve the rest of the company, going beyond just expenses to the full suite of spend solutions within a company.
Future Plans and Expansion
SiFi is building a solution that will scale beyond Saudi Arabia, leveraging its technology stack to integrate within any market. While growth outside Saudi Arabia will be targeted, the company is focused on doubling down on its growth plans in its home market.
Saudi Arabia’s Venture Investment Landscape
SiFi joins a growing list of Saudi startups that have raised significant capital this year, even as venture capitalists (VCs) cut back activity globally. The country continues to take the lead in terms of venture investment in the MENA region, driven by the government’s push to create a favorable environment for innovators and businesses. This push is aimed at diversifying the country’s revenue streams and reducing its reliance on oil.
Conclusion
The global spend management sector is experiencing significant growth, driven by increasing internet penetration, technological advancements, and businesses’ focus on prudent spending. SiFi, a Saudi Arabia-based spend management platform, has raised $10 million in a seed funding round to expand its operations in the country. With its competitive product and growth plans, SiFi is poised to play a crucial role in the MENA region’s spend management landscape.
