My Morning Routine: Mohammed Alfraihi, co-founder and CTO of Rize

Rize started as a real estate crowdfunding idea and grew to become Saudi Arabia’s first rental operator, helping tenants pay rent in monthly installments while expanding into rental infrastructure services as the Kingdom’s proptech sector matures alongside a wave of regulatory reforms.

My Morning Routine looks at how a successful member of the community starts their day — and then throws in a couple of random business questions just for fun. This week, we sat down with Mohammed Alfraihi (LinkedIn), Rize’s co-founder and CTO, to discuss Rize’s evolution from crowdfunding to rental infrastructure, the regulatory changes reshaping proptech, and why he plans his weeks one problem at a time. Edited excerpts from our conversation:

E: How did your career progress to founding Rize?

Mohammed Alfraihi: I have always seen myself as a problem solver and a builder — that’s what drew me to study computer science for both my undergraduate and graduate degrees. After finishing my studies in the US, I started in healthtech before moving back to Saudi Arabia to join Site. From there, I wanted to build something of my own and use technology to solve real-world problems, which led me to co-found WalaPlus. We saw a gap in the loyalty market, started by helping companies build employee loyalty programs, and eventually expanded to provide loyalty solutions for both firms and their customers. I led the product vision and technology teams, and we were fortunate to grow into one of the leading loyalty firms in Saudi Arabia.

After WalaPlus, it was time to start solving another problem in another domain. PropTech was still in its early stages in Saudi Arabia — a promising sector, but with a handful of clear challenges facing residents. That’s what pushed us toward the rental market, and we founded Rize as the Kingdom’s first rental operator.

E: How has Rize evolved since its launch in 2021?

MA: When we started Rize, we focused on the real estate market because it is massive and growing at double-digit rates in Saudi Arabia, yet largely untapped from a technology perspective. We initially explored real estate crowdfunding and spent several months testing the space but concluded that the model was ahead of local regulations. Rather than wait for the market to catch up, we decided to look for a problem we could solve sooner.

Finding the real problem: Our search led us to the rental market, and after studying the ecosystem, it quickly became clear that tenants faced the biggest challenge. Landlords would always find someone who would pay one year upfront — that’s where the problem remained. Tenants, on the other hand, were more open and flexible to paying in monthly installments. We launched a pilot around monthly rent installments, tested the model with our first customers, and refined the product as we went. In less than a year, we had found product-market fit and were seeing strong demand.

E: What are your plans for an expansion in the upcoming years?

MA: Our plan is to acquire more market share and continue providing flexible payment options while transitioning into a rental infrastructure company. This means expanding our product suite to address challenges that tenants, brokers, and landlords face across the entire rental journey. We recently launched our second product, matchmaking, which addresses supply and demand at the discovery phase, using our broker network to match verified tenants with available properties. Meanwhile, we are actively studying neighboring markets, their regulations, and the specific challenges they face to expand when the timing is right.

E: Where do the proptech and broader real estate sectors stand today?

MA: The real estate market is not only expanding but also undergoing regulatory shifts that are steering it in the right direction. We saw several important regulatory changes in 2025 that were aimed at making the market more balanced. The rent freeze helped improve affordability for tenants by balancing supply and demand, while the white land fees encouraged developers to move ahead with projects instead of holding on to undeveloped land, which is expected to boost supply in the coming years.

These shifts are opening up real prospects for proptech. The sector is still relatively young, and the Real Estate General Authority itself was only established a few years ago. We have seen, since launching Rize, how these regulations have supported companies and unlocked new ways to deliver value to customers.

E: Looking ahead, where do you see the greatest potential over the next few years?

MA: Renting a home is a process that can be improved across all its stages, including discovering a property, negotiating, contracting, and the move-in and move-out experience. Most of property discovery, for example, happens online today, but tenants still have to arrange individual viewings with brokers and visit properties one by one, which is a step that can be heavily innovated. Post-move-in services are also lacking, with tenants often struggling to find reliable solutions for things like furniture and ongoing maintenance after they move in.

E: Walk us through your day, start to finish.

MA: My day actually starts the evening before, when I plan out the upcoming day. I start early in the morning and look at my schedule from a weekly perspective rather than taking it strictly day-by-day. I pick a problem or two that I would like to work on with the relevant team. I work closely with our teams — from the front-line sales teams all the way to the collections team — ensuring they have the necessary resources to succeed.

Alfraihi’s recommendations

What he does in his free time: Outside of work, I am a very active person and spend most of my free time doing sports. Sports is my getaway. I enjoy working out at the gym, playing golf, and diving in the Red Sea whenever I have the chance to travel.

A piece of advice that stuck: As an entrepreneur, I always remind myself of one core belief: that there will inevitably be ups and downs on this journey. Whenever you face a down period or a difficult challenge, stay positive and focus on doing your part to resolve it. Any problem or challenge is solvable in the end, and things always get better from there.