Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – October 13, 2026 — Funding Souq, a Saudi-based Shariah-compliant crowdfunding and SME financing platform regulated by the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), has announced a strategic investment from Foodics, a leading restaurant operations and financial technology platform in the MENA region.
The investment makes Foodics a major investor in Funding Souq’s latest funding round and will support the company’s continued growth and expansion of embedded financing opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.
The collaboration brings together Funding Souq’s regulated financing infrastructure and SME credit expertise with Foodics’ technology, extensive market reach, and data capabilities. Within the restaurant and hospitality sector, Funding Souq will extend its financing solutions to Foodics’ network of tech-enabled merchants, leveraging restaurant sales and performance data to assess creditworthiness and offer financing better aligned with their operational needs.
Supporting Foodics’ Broader Financial Services Strategy
The investment comes as Foodics continues to expand its financial services offering through Capital 2.0, its automated financing solution for restaurants, launched on the sidelines of Money20/20 Middle East in Riyadh.
Foodics intends to deploy USD 100 million in financing through Capital 2.0 during its first year, reflecting its broader strategy to integrate access to capital directly into its restaurant technology ecosystem.
Martin Jaouni, Founder and CEO of Funding Souq, commented:
“We’re delighted to partner with Foodics. Together we have created Saudi Arabia’s first fully automated business loan, bringing Foodics’ deep reach across the restaurant and hospitality sector together with our regulated financing infrastructure to deliver capital to merchants the moment they need it. It also marks an important acceleration of our embedded finance journey, one we intend to extend across every sector where SMEs are underserved, in both Saudi Arabia and the UAE.”
Anas AlGhanim, VP, Investments & Corporate Development at Foodics, added:
“Funding Souq has built a strong financing platform with significant potential to scale and serve a broader segment of SMEs. We see this investment as an opportunity to support the company’s next phase of growth, while also bringing together Funding Souq’s financing capabilities and Foodics’ technology ecosystem to expand financing services and make access to capital more seamless for our customers.”
Expanding Access to SME Financing
The strategic investment also aligns with Foodics’ longer-term ambition to evolve beyond restaurant technology into a broader financial services platform, with the company ultimately aspiring to become the future bank for restaurants and the hospitality sector.
Funding Souq currently operates across two main verticals: a marketplace connecting SMEs with institutional and retail private credit investors, and an infrastructure business providing a regulated gateway for SME financing in Saudi Arabia. Its Shariah-compliant financing solutions include term loans, invoice financing, and supplier financing.
The company has built a community of more than 10,000 investors on its platform and is targeting USD 1 billion in SME financing over the next three years as it continues to expand its operations across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Founded in 2014, Foodics provides an integrated cloud-based ecosystem covering restaurant operations, payments, and financial services. The company has processed more than 6 billion orders through its platform and previously raised USD 170 million in its Series C funding round, positioning it among the region’s leading restaurant technology companies.
