Dubai fintech Sarwa expands its investment advisory platform to Saudi after receiving fintech experimental permit

Dubai fintech Sarwa expands its investment advisory platform to Saudi after receiving fintech experimental permit

Dubai-based investment advisory platform Sarwa is expanding to Saudi Arabia after receiving the fintech experimental permit from Saudi's Capital Markets Authority (CMA), it announced in a statement today. The development comes almost a year after Sarwa raised $8.4 million in one of the largest funding rounds for a consumer fintech of the region.

The startup uses a combination of technology and human advice to enable users to invest their savings in low-cost index funds. With the expansion to Saudi, it will enable both locals and expats to use its platform to make investments. The users get a recommended portfolio on Sarwa based on their goals and risk appetite. They can open an account on the platform in a few minutes to start investing, for what the startup claims, is a very low fee.

As this is an experimental permit, the services will apparently be available to a small number of users, in Saudi, for now.

Mark Chahwan, the co-founder and CEO of Sarwa, commenting on the occasion, said, “As founders from the region, our mission is to make smart financial services accessible and affordable to everyone here. There are so many people in the Middle East who do not have the tools nor