Homegrown fintech Hala secured USD 157 mn in a Series B funding, led by TPG’s The Rise Funds and Sanabil Investments, with participation from other investors, it said on LinkedIn yesterday. The round is one of the largest fintech series B rounds in the Middle East and comprises USD 130 mn in equity and USD 27 mn in debt, valuing the company at USD 900 mn, Bloomberg reported yesterday, citing a source it said is familiar with the matter.

Where’s the money going? Hala plans to channel the fresh capital into expanding its financial services and lending products for SMEs and freelancers, while also widening its regional footprint. “Nailing financing to basically a base that was never — and will never — be served by banks, is something that keeps us excited,” co-founder and chairman Esam Alnahdi told Bloomberg.

More in the works: The firm eyes international expansion into UK and European markets, while also laying the early groundwork for an eventual IPO in the Kingdom, co-founder and CEO Maher Loubieh told Bloomberg. The company may also seek additional equity down the line to fund acquisitions and fuel its fast-growing lending business, Loubieh added.

REFRESHER- The company joined the Saudi Unicorns Program in October 2024 — a milestone that followed its undisclosed amount funding from TPG earlier in May of last year.

About Hala: Founded by Esam Alnahdi (LinkedIn) and Maher Loubieh (LinkedIn) in 2018, Hala provides embedded financial services — business accounts, card issuance, payments and transfers, POS solutions, financing and corporate cards — and serves over 142k businesses while processing more than USD 8 bn in annual transactions.

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