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About us

Our Story

Funding Souq is the digital financing platform for SME’s in the Middle East. We provide business loans by connecting established SMEs with retail and institutional debt investors worldwide.

Led by a powerful purpose to enable regional SMEs to grow and prosper, our goal is to become the #1 SME enabler in the region. Funding Souq was established in September 2020 in Dubai and has quickly expanded to Saudi Arabia in early 2021.
Our Mission & Vision
Mission
On a mission is to fuel SME growth, create jobs and drive the economy forward.
Vision
Our vision is to provide SMEs with reliable funding solutions by leveraging the power of technology and financial markets.
Our Board & Advisors
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Mariam Abdulsalam
Mariam joined the Kuwait Central Bank in 2012 and is currently a Deputy Manager of the Financial Stability Office. She holds a MSc in Finance from London Business School. 
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Suresh Lalwani
Suresh is the MD & Head of Coverage of Commercial Banking in First Abu Dhabi Bank. Previously, he was the Head of SME in RAK BANK, UAE's largest SME lender. Suresh holds an MBA from the SP Jain School of Management. 
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Martin Jaouni
Martin launched Funding Souq in 2020 after having spent some time in PwC as a Senior Associate on the Deals teams. Prior to that, he used to work in Real Estate Private Equity in London. Martin holds an MSc in Finance from CASS Business School in London.
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Musaab Hakami
Musaab is a General Partner in VentureSouq. Previously, he was the CFO of Sary where he raised $120m of venture capital. Musaab is also a renowned angel investor and a Computer Engineering graduate from King Saud University.
Our Shariah Supervisory Board
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Usama Ehsan
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Muhammad Abdul Hadi
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Ubaid Zubairi
Our Leaders
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Martin Jaouni
Founder & CEO
Martin launched Funding Souq in 2020 after having spent some time in PwC as a Senior Associate on the Deals teams. Prior to that, he used to work in Real Estate Private Equity in London. Martin holds an MSc in Finance from CASS Business School in London.
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Nick Kvizhinadze
Tech Lead
Nick is leading our software development unit. Previously, he worked at TBC Bank and prior to that in VTB where he was responsible for the VideoBank project. Nick is an IT Graduate from the Georgian University.
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Sumbul Qureshi
Compliance Lead
Sumbul joined us with more than 11 years of compliance experience. She worked in Etive Consulting, Mashreq Bank, Abraaj Capital and the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan. Sumbul holds an LLB from the University of Punjab.
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Reham Hadidi
Credit Risk Manager
Reham joined us with over 12 years of experience in the Islamic banking sector. Her most recent position was as a Senior Credit Officer specializing in corporate clients at Arab Islamic International Bank in Jordan. Reham holds an MSc in Accounting from Jordan University.
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Shariah Compliance
At Funding Souq, our core values revolve around offering investment and borrowing opportunities that align with Shariah principles. These opportunities are arranged through a Murabaha structure, which is widely recognized as the industry standard for Islamic business finance. We have obtained our Shariah compliance certificate from Dar Al Sharia, a subsidiary of Dubai Islamic Bank. To ensure our commitment to these principles, our in-house Sharia Supervisory Board diligently evaluates each investment opportunity, conducting regular reviews of our processes. For more details, you can access our certificate by clicking here.
We are backed by investors and executives from
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Risk Disclosure

Business lending exposes your capital to risks. The risk of default can result in the loss of all or part of your investment. In the event that Funding Souq ceases to exist, investors may lose their capital, incur costs or experience delays in being paid. The finance contract will be entered into between the borrower and the lender (i.e. investor) and Funding Souq in its capacity as Investment Agent on behalf of the investor. Investors are not allowed to transfer or sell their loans on a secondary market and businesses are not allowed to seek financing on other platforms simultaneously.

Funding Souq will have no financial interest in any of the prospects and it will not advertise businesses outside its platform. The use of credit cards is not allowed and investors should be aware that the use of borrowed capital poses an even greater risk. The risk and credit assessment provided by the firm is only a guideline and you will need to evaluate the creditworthiness of the underlying business. Some clients who are categorised as Professional Clients under the DFSA Rules will qualify for the preferential pro-rata lending allocation through auto lending as compared to Retail clients. For additional information on risks and credit assessment, please click here.

Funding Souq Ltd is regulated by the DFSA under license number F005822

Funding Souq has DFSA's Islamic Window Endorsement, pusuant to which, details of FSL's Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) are available on the Firm's web-site. Details of frequency and manner of Shariah Reviews are available on request. FSL maintains a segregated client monies acccount with Emirates NBD in Dubai, wherein Shariah compliant and conventional funds are comingled. It is a non interest bearing account.

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