STARTUP WATCH-

Local fintech outfit EdfaPay has obtained the licenses it needs to operate in Tunisia starting in May through its Tunisian financial payment solutions arm WePay, it said in a press release (pdf). The expansion will help provide integrated payment solutions in Tunisia, it said. The Riyadh-based fintech will announce “many signed contracts with clients from Tunisia and Morocco” in May, it said, without providing further details. EdfaPay CEO and Founder Ghormallah Al Ghamdi said the launch will help EdfaPay “open new doors to our uttermost goal of worldwide expansion.”

REMEMBER- EdfaPay received accreditation from leading global payments network Discover Global Network in March, paving the way for expansion into new markets.

About EdfaPay: Set up in 2022, EdfaPay is a fintech company that uses software point of sale (softPoS) and payment gateway services for online and offline merchants. It raised USD 1.6 mn in a pre-seed round to help boost its progressive softPoS technology, which allows merchants accept card payments directly through their phones. It also raised USD 3.2 mn last year in a seed round to help fuel its expansion overseas.

DEVELOPMENT-

The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (Itfc) plans to add to its portfolio of projects with over 40 agreements to be signed during its ongoing Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) annual meetings in Riyadh, its CEO Hani Sonbol told Aleqisadiah on the sidelines of the annual meetings. He did not provide a figure on the total funding that the bank, which is a member of the IsDB, intends to allocate for the fresh agreements.

Some of the agreements include a USD 250 mn murabaha facility with African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to support the bank’s trade finance activities, Sonbol said. The bank also signed a USD 150 mn agreement with Uganda to support sectors including energy, agriculture and others, he added. A USD 40 mn murabaha agreement between the Itfc and the Trade and Development Bank to facilitate trade between Eastern and Southern Africa was also signed, according to Sonbol.

DEBT-

Tadawul-listed Middle East Specialized Cables Company has secured a one-year SAR 100 mn sharia-compliant credit facility from Al Rajhi Bank to finance its working capital, it said in a statement to Tadawul.

EARNINGS WATCH-

#1- Al Rajhi Bank’s net income rose 6.3% y-o-y to SAR 4.4 bn in 1Q 2024, fueled by an increase in net financing and investment income, it said in a disclosure to Tadawul. Meanwhile, revenues rose 6.6% to SAR 7.2 bn.

#2- The Saudi National Bank’s net income rose 0.4% y-o-y to SAR 5.0 bn in 1Q 2024, and revenues inched up 2% y-o-y to SAR 8.9 bn, according to a statement to Tadawul.

WASTEWATER TREATMENT-

Drake & Scull subsidiary to expand Khobar’s wastewater treatment plant: Wastewater treatment technology provider Passavant Energy and Environment — a subsidiary of UAE-based contractor Drake and Scull International — was awarded a project to design and build an expanded wastewater treatment plant in Al Khobar with a capacity of 200k cubic meters per day, according to a statement. The project, valued at SAR 789 mn (USD 215 mn), was awarded to Passavant along with an unnamed local contractor. Passavant’s subcontract was valued at USD 48 mn, the statement said. No timeline for the project was disclosed.

Scope of work: The contract includes the design and technology of a process to convert waste into energy. It also includes a terminal pumping station, heavy waste treatment tanks, water distribution pipelines and other components.

Tags: