Riyadh – Sharikat Mubasher: Sukna Capital announced receiving approval from Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) to launch the Sukna Fund for Direct Financing (SFDF), the Kingdom’s first open-ended, Sharia-compliant direct lending fund.
Designed to offer institutional investors access to scalable, non-dilutive capital opportunities, SFDF targets small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seeking growth without giving up equity, according to a recent press release.
The fund’s open-ended structure allows investors to enter and exit at regular intervals, providing greater liquidity than traditional private credit vehicles.
The regulatory green light marks a significant milestone for non-bank financing in Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region.
Fares Bardeesi, Sukna CEO, described the fund as a response to persistent funding gaps facing Saudi SMEs, noting that SME lending remains below Vision 2030 targets. As of Q3 2024, SMEs accounted for just 9.1% of total bank credit, or SAR 329.23 billion, far short of the 15–20% goal.
The fund also benefits from the expertise of Waleed Alballaa, Managing Partner at Sukna Ventures and a member of the fund’s investment committee, who highlighted the need for modern financing tools tailored to today’s fast-evolving tech ecosystem.
With SFDF, Sukna aims to redefine access to institutional capital in Saudi Arabia, combining alternative finance with proprietary technology to streamline loan origination, risk assessment, and reporting for both borrowers and investors.
