Saudi Fintech Nayla Finance Raises $17.9M to Expand Lending

The Saudi fintech Nayla Finance has raised $17.9 million in equity and debt to expand AI-powered lending for micro businesses across Saudi Arabia. The equity round was led by Idrisi Ventures, with participation from Suhail Ventures and other investors, while Blominvest led the debt facility.

Nayla plans to use the funding to increase financing for underserved businesses, expand into adjacent customer segments, and strengthen its proprietary credit intelligence platform.

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Founded in 2025 by Shaqran Alyahya and Khalid Naili, Nayla Finance provides digital microfinancing solutions for businesses and entrepreneurs. The fintech is licensed by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA).

Scaling Micro Business Lending with Saudi Fintech Nayla

Micro businesses represent a significant segment of Saudi Arabia’s private sector but can face challenges accessing traditional financing. Nayla is targeting this gap with a digital lending model that uses alternative data and proprietary credit assessment capabilities to evaluate businesses that may not meet conventional lending criteria.

Its technology is designed to support underwriting decisions while expanding access to financing for businesses that may have limited financial histories, collateral, or other documentation typically used by traditional lenders.

“This capital enables us to significantly expand access to financing for Saudi Arabia’s micro businesses, continue investing in our technology and proprietary credit engine, and strengthen our position as the leading digital financing platform serving this vital segment of the economy,” said Shaqran Alyahya, Co-Founder and CEO of Nayla.

The Impact of the Funding Round

The structure of the round gives Nayla both equity capital to invest in its technology and business and debt financing to support the growth of its lending portfolio. The fintech also plans to deepen partnerships across Saudi Arabia’s SME ecosystem as it expands its financing offering.

Its focus on alternative data could become increasingly relevant as digital lenders look for ways to assess smaller businesses that may not have audited financial statements, long credit histories, or collateral often required by conventional lending models.

Why It Matters to Saudi Arabia’s Fintech Market

Nayla’s raise comes as Saudi Arabia continues to develop its fintech ecosystem and promote entrepreneurship and financial inclusion under Vision 2030.

For micro businesses, greater access to digital financing could help address a longstanding funding gap while giving lenders new ways to assess credit risk.

For Nayla, however, scaling the lending portfolio will need to go hand in hand with disciplined underwriting. The company’s ability to maintain credit performance as it expands will be an important test of its alternative-data approach.

The next phase will also show whether Nayla can successfully move into adjacent customer segments while continuing to improve its credit intelligence platform.

With $17.9 million in new capital, the company now has additional resources to scale its lending business. The bigger question is whether it can turn that capital into sustainable lending growth while maintaining the quality of its loan book.