Bahrain Unlocks Golden Residency: Lowering Investment Threshold to Fuel Entrepreneurship
06 Dec 2025
Saudi Arabia‑based fintech Muhlah Zamaniyah for Finance announced the closing of its seed investment round totaling twenty‑eight point two‑five million Saudi riyals, equivalent to seven‑point‑five million dollars, in a funding round led by BIM Ventures and Japan’s SBI Group.
The round also saw participation from AlSuhaimi Holding Group and Fakhr Investment Holding Company, underscoring growing investor confidence in Saudi fintech innovation.
Muhlah is a fully fintech‑enabled consumer microfinance company licensed by the Saudi Central Bank and spun out of the Riyadh‑based startup studio BIM Ventures. The company’s platform offers digital consumer financing that adheres to Shariah principles, subject to supervision by a Shariah committee, with the aim of enhancing financial inclusion across diverse segments of Saudi society.
The participation of SBI Group, one of Japan’s largest financial conglomerates, reflects a strategic business partnership with BIM Ventures that was formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed in May twenty‑twenty‑four with support from the Saudi Ministry of Investment.
This alliance includes the joint establishment and management of investment funds and is part of broader efforts to attract foreign direct investment into the Kingdom’s regulated financial sector.
Muhlah plans to use the new capital to expand its financing capacity through Shariah‑compliant structures, including off‑balance‑sheet arrangements and partner‑backed financing models, while exploring additional funding channels and international partnerships to support future growth.
According to Mohamed Amine Merah, managing partner and chief executive of BIM Ventures, the investment demonstrates the success of combining local market expertise with global financial resources, positioning Muhlah to bring world‑class fintech solutions to Saudi Arabia’s consumer finance sector.
Under the leadership of chief executive officer Abdulaziz AlRammah, Muhlah’s next phase will focus on scaling access to responsible, transparent, affordable, and sustainable Shariah‑compliant microfinance products for consumers across the Kingdom.
The deal highlights Saudi Arabia’s attractiveness to foreign capital in a well‑regulated financial ecosystem and aligns with national initiatives to deepen financial inclusion and diversify the economy, especially through technology‑driven solutions.
This fund represents a significant milestone for Jadwa as its first blind-pool regional private credit vehicle. Unlike previous deal-specific funds, this structure offers institutional and private wealth investors broader, diversified exposure to the burgeoning private credit landscape across the GCC.
Demonstrating strong execution capabilities, capital from the initial close has already been deployed into two strategic investments through partnerships with regional fintech pioneers:
Two additional transactions are projected to finalize within the first half of 2026, underscoring the fund's active investment pipeline.
The fund aims to capitalize on the economic momentum within Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC, where demand for alternative credit solutions is rising.
With over $30 billion in client assets under management (AUM) across public markets, private capital, and real estate, Jadwa’s launch of this flagship fund reinforces its position as a leading innovator in the Middle Eastern financial sector.
Resquad AI, a Saudi-based Talent Management SaaS provider, has successfully secured $1.5 million in a Seed funding round.
The investment was led by SRG, with strategic participation from a group of prominent angel investors.
Launched in 2024 by Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Jafaari, Resquad AI distinguishes itself through a dual-model approach: a sophisticated SaaS platform and a global B2B marketplace for developers.
The core of the platform is built on a proprietary Large Language Model (LLM) specifically engineered for technical hiring, ensuring high-precision matching between global talent and corporate needs.
The newly acquired capital is earmarked for accelerating the company’s growth trajectory, with a primary focus on:
By automating critical stages of the hiring lifecycle, Resquad AI enables organizations to reduce recruitment timelines by up to 99%. Currently operating across more than 52 countries, the platform serves as a vital bridge for cross-border recruitment.
This expansion aligns with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030, contributing to the development of a robust, knowledge-based digital economy.
"This investment supports our vision of building a global recruitment ecosystem driven by innovation and high-impact partnerships across both public and private sectors," stated Abdullah Al-Jaafari, Founder and CEO of Resquad AI.
The colossal $1 trillion figure is not an immediate lump sum but a cumulative investment goal spanning several years. It strategically directs sovereign and private Saudi capital towards sectors that are crucial for the American economy while fulfilling the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030:
Achieving the $1 trillion target relies on leveraging multiple sophisticated financial instruments:
Beyond economics, the visit solidified key strategic agreements. President Trump confirmed the approved sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, a significant move reflecting strong bilateral trust. Furthermore, discussions on regional stability affirmed the Saudi position that normalizing relations with Israel must be clearly linked to a credible trajectory toward a two-state solution, a stance President Trump described as "positive."
Saudi Arabia, under the aegis of its Public Investment Fund (PIF), is taking a decisive leap toward establishing itself as a global AI hub.
At the heart of this effort is Humain Ventures—a $10 billion venture capital fund aimed at supporting artificial intelligence startups across major global markets (Reuters 2025).
The Vision Behind Humain Launched in May 2025, Humain is led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and CEO Tareq Amin, formerly of Aramco Digital.
The initiative seeks to go beyond infrastructure by investing in AI research, training Arabic-language models, and attracting global talent. It's a direct signal that Saudi Arabia aims to lead, not follow, in the AI revolution (FT 2025a).
Global Investment Reach The $10 billion fund will be deployed across North America, Europe, and Asia, targeting both early-stage ventures and growth-phase companies. The strategy blends financial muscle with geopolitical ambition, aiming to position Saudi Arabia as an indispensable partner in the global AI supply chain (FT 2025b).
Simultaneously, the Kingdom is expanding its domestic capacity, planning over 1.9 GW in data center energy by 2030. This complements a broader $77 billion tech infrastructure plan (Reuters 2025).
Strategic Tech Partnerships Humain has inked major deals with Nvidia for 18,000 Blackwell GPUs and launched joint ventures with AMD and Qualcomm.
Amazon Web Services is also participating in a $5 billion AI Zone project. These alliances are designed to accelerate Saudi Arabia’s technical capabilities and ensure local access to the latest AI hardware (Arab News 2025).
Implications for the Global Order More than just economic, this initiative is strategic. It aligns with Vision 2030’s goal of transforming the Kingdom into a knowledge-based economy. By engaging with top U.S. tech firms, Saudi Arabia balances ambition with alignment to Western innovation ecosystems (Barrons 2025).
Investor Outlook For global investors, Humain represents an entry point into one of the most aggressively expanding AI markets. With state backing, regulatory flexibility, and deep pockets, the fund offers a rare combination of ambition and stability (FT 2025b).
References
Arab News. 2025. "Nvidia and Saudi Arabia Launch Partnership on Blackwell GPUs." May 13, 2025.
Barrons. 2025. "Sovereign AI Is the Next Big Trend in Tech." May 13, 2025.
Financial Times (FT). 2025a. "Saudi Arabia Launches Humain." May 11, 2025.
Financial Times (FT). 2025b. "Saudi AI Infrastructure Plans Revealed." May 12, 2025.
Reuters. 2025. "Saudi Arabia's $10B AI Push." May 12, 2025.
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