We are here at Money 20/20 in Riyadh. Joining me now is Hisham Alsaleh, Co-Founder and CFO of Aajil, a Saudi fintech focused on financing for the industrial sector backed by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund. Hisham, welcome to Wall Street to Mena.
Thank you.
What brought Aajil here to Money 20/20 in Riyadh?
Money 20/20 is a very vibrant ecosystem under the umbrella of an event. You can see investors, banks, startups, amazing ideas, and regulators all in one place. It allows you to explore new ideas, meet new people, and expand beyond what you think can be done in the ecosystem. It is a very good place that combines everyone for a short period of time.
Why did you decide to build a fintech specifically around providing credit and SME financing in the industrial supply chain?
What Aajil provides is raw materials on credit for SMEs in the industrial supply chain — manufacturers, contractors, and traders. There is a big gap when it comes to what is available for SMEs. If a contractor or manufacturer wants to conduct business, the majority of their transactions are in raw materials. They go to vendors and ask for credit. But these vendors are not built to underwrite — they do not know how to assess the risk. They might give you raw materials on credit for 15 days. An SME needs them for four months to match the cash conversion cycle. On the other hand, banks serve the sector — but they might take three to four months to approve. So speed is of the essence. Aajil tries to combine the best of what fintechs and lenders do with what vendors provide — and plug the gap that exists in the market today to serve these SMEs better.
SIDF has backed Aajil. What does that partnership actually look like?
Aajil has many investors. What they all see is a gap that still is not served — one that requires a very unique approach and a certain set of expertise to unlock the hidden value in the industrial supply chain. We have been doing business for four years and have serviced SMEs. When we first onboarded them, they had 10 to 15 million riyals in revenue. Today they have revenues north of 150 million. So not only did they grow — we had the honour of being part of that growth. That is not one company. That is 250 companies in the system.
What is Aajil doing differently from the banks?
Our real competitors are not fintechs and banks — they have a different product. Our real competitors are the thousands of vendors in the ecosystem today who want to sell their products but want to get paid in cash. Aajil comes in and says: we provide the vendors with cash, and we provide the customers with the credit. The vendor gets cash. The customer gets bigger amounts and longer durations that suit their business cycles. It is a win for the vendor, a win for the client, and a win for Aajil — because we separate the price of cash from the price of credit.
Thank you so much, Hisham.
My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
