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How It Works

Funding Souq connects established SMEs that are looking to borrow with retail and institutional investors worldwide.

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Investors
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Fast and
Easy Process
Funding Souq connects lenders with creditworthy businesses and gives you the necessary tools to make an informed investment decision. Grow your wealth by creating jobs and contributing to the growth of the local economy. For more details, please visit our FAQs
Create an account
Register as an investor in less than 3 minutes.
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Browse opportunities
You can invest manually or enable our auto invest feature.
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Invest
Deposit funds and start investing.
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Minimum investment amount
Choose to withdraw your earnings or re-invest for maximum return.
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Apply online
Submit an online application in 5 minutes.
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Get approved
Once we've reviewed your application, you'll receive an offer within 72 hours.
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Receive Funds
Once you accept our offer, we will launch a fundraising campaign. You will get the funds within 24 hrs of completion.
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Repayments
Pay monthly, or settle your obligations early with no extra fees.
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For
Borrowers
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Turn Capital Into Your
Competitive Edge
Take your business to the next level with finance that arrives in days. Funding Souq provides a platform that provides businesses with quick and affordable access to funding.
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Shariah Compliance
Funding Souq offers Shariah-compliant investment and financing solutions. We are dedicated to following Islamic principles, and our Shariah Supervisory Board verifies and ensures compliance.
Certified by Dar Al Shariah
Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, it can be deactivated and activated on the Investment Settings page at any time.

All new investors will be subject to CRS self-certification on Funding Souq’s website.

The cost of borrowing varies depending on the internally generated risk rating and the tenure of the loan. The fee varies from a one-off of 2-5%. Funding Souq doesn’t charge any additional fees.

Funding Souq facilitates funds to be managed on behalf of someone else given the necessary KYC information is provided for both parties, i.e. the registered user on the platform and the beneficial owner of the funds. Also, the firm requests an authorization letter from the beneficial owner of the funds that allows you to invest the funds on their behalf.

Funding Souq Ltd is authorized and regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority under number F005822. All contracts are drawn up under DIFC Law.

The Balanced strategy is designed to make the most of the available opportunities on Funding Souq. Our system will allocate unlimited exposure to A-rated opportunities as these are fully guaranteed through our partnership with Sharjah Media City. Given that our B-rated opportunities are not guaranteed and are riskier, our system will limit your exposure to 10% of your total portfolio for these opportunities.


The Conservative strategy is designed to minimize your risk but with that comes lower returns as well. Our system will allocate your funds to only A-rated opportunities which are fully guaranteed through our partnership with Sharjah Media City.

CRS information is mandatory for the account opening process and an investor account cannot be opened without providing the relevant information.

Yes, businesses can have more than one funding request at any point in time. However, a business must have made several successful repayments on their existing facilities prior being approved for a second facility.

Upon completing the onboarding, you will be able to deposit funds into your account through a bank transfer or cheque. Funding Souq doesn’t accept cash deposits.

Funding Souq is a digital lending platform that connects established businesses with investor (lenders). The platform uses technology to connect both parties through the principle of crowdfunding, - i.e. raising small amounts of funds from many individuals.

Auto-Investing is a feature that allows you to invest your available funds in a hassle-free manner. If enabled, our system will automatically allocate your recently deposited funds or your repayments into live opportunities on the Marketplace. There are 2 types of Auto-Investing strategies, Balanced and Conservative, and these are designed to maximize your returns on a risk-adjusted basis.

As per CRS requirements, Funding Souq needs to share the below information;
  • Name
  • Address
  • Jurisdiction(s) of tax residence
  • TIN(s)
  • Name of Reporting Financial Institution
  • Account number
  • Account balance
  • Gross proceeds paid or credited to the account

Businesses undergo a due diligence process that is led by the credit team. The risk assessments analyse business and financial performance as well as qualitative facts such as the strength of the management team, industry sentiment and others. The process also includes a site visit.

Investors need to be at a minimum of 18 years of age.

If you are dissatisfied with Funding Souq’s service, we urge you to email our Compliance department at [email protected]. Our team will investigate the matter with the aim of understanding whether we have acted fairly and within our contractual obligations. Upon concluding the investigation, a final written response will be provided. In case you don’t feel that your complaint has been resolved, you may then contact the DFSA. The DFSA is the independent regulator of all financial and ancillary services conducted within the DIFC. Contact the DFSA:
  • Dubai Financial Service Authority
  • PO Box 75850,
  • Dubai, UAE
  • Level 13, West Wing, The Gate, DIFC
  • Phone: +971 (0)4 559 2108
  • Complaints Portal: https://www.dfsa.ae/en/MediaRelease/Complaints
  • Further information can also be found at www.dfsa.ae

Funding Souq is required to share the information with the local tax authority which will in turn share the information with the corresponding tax authorities where the client is a tax resident.

Repayments can be settled early with no penalties.

Funding Souq is open to all nationalities although there are some regulatory restrictions.

The firm can maintain investor accounts for residents of most countries, with a few exceptions. If a relocation occurs, please contact  [email protected]  to ensure whether you are still eligible to remain as a investor on the platform. If your account can no longer be maintained, the firm will restrict you from adding any further funds and from making any further investments. All existing investments will remain active and repayments will be made to your account. Once the loan has been repaid in full, you will be able to withdraw these repayments and your account will be permanently close.

Investors are not charged any fees.

Borrowers get charged an origination fee that is dependent on the riskiness of the underlying business and the tenure of the loan. The fee varies from a one-off of 2-5%. Funding Souq doesn’t charge any additional fees.

Generally, information needs to be provided on a one-off basis unless there is a change in tax residency status. However, Funding Souq may request documents as it deems necessary.

Repayments can made either be processed electronically through bank transfers or post-dated cheques can be issued in line with UAE banking practices.

Funding Souq requires the above documents to comply with the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA). As per regulatory requirements, all regulated firms need to maintain valid ID documents and client information. This requires us to understand your identity, source of funds and previous dealings. If need may be, we might contact you for additional documents as the previous list is non-exhaustive. Funding Souq cannot withdraw money from your account and all deposits will be made by you transferring money into a segregated bank account.

Funding Souq is open to most investors except for a few nationalities due to local restrictions. Please contact [email protected] to check your eligibility.

Funding Souq is a regulated entity by the DFSA and in turn, has a Business Cessation Plan that is reviewed on an annual basis. As a Category 4 license holder, Funding Souq is required to have a minimum capital commitment which will be resorted to if the business was to cease trading. If the business ceases to trade the uninvested funds will be returned to the respective investors’ bank accounts. Also, a repayment schedule and an outstanding payment statement will be sent to you within 5 working days. All existing financing contracts will remain valid, and legally binding and installments will continue to be collected as projected.

Please contact a professional tax advisor or check the OECD website. For more information on how to determine your tax residency.

Businesses need to be established in the UAE with a minimum of 2 years of trading. The venture needs to have $1 million of revenue, a strong track record and profitable or on path to profitability. All businesses will undergo extensive due diligence through the credit assessment process.

Funding Souq only accepts credit-worthy businesses after extensive due diligence has been undertaken to ensure their creditworthiness. However, that doesn’t mean that risk is fully eliminated, and defaults can still occur. That is exactly why we encourage our investors to diversify their exposure across several businesses and hence lower the risk of capital loss. As an unsecured facility, the risk is borne by the investor. Funding Souq is committed to exercising everything in its power to collect the funds and will initiate legal action if deemed relevant. To minimize the risk of a business defaulting, businesses need to provide the necessary guarantees in line with UAE practices. This includes an undated but signed cheque for the total loan amount and at least one personal guarantee which is drafted under DIFC law.

Funding Souq is open to most investors except for a few nationalities due to local restrictions. Please contact   [email protected]  to check your eligibility.

As per CRS requirements, local tax authorities require financial institutions to collect information relating to the tax status of their clients. Due to this our investor registration process, includes a “self-certification” question. Financial institutions are required to identify clients who are tax residents outside the country where their accounts are domiciled and further relay the information to the local tax authorities. The tax authority may share the information with the authorities in the country where you are classified as a tax resident.

Campaigns need to be fully funded for them to be classified as complete. In case it fails to generate enough interest, the collected funds are distributed to their beneficial owners. An oversubscription is not possible as the funding campaign automatically closes on completion.

Funding Souq doesn’t allow a investor to sell their loan or loan parts before the end of the finance contract.

DFSA requires all regulated financial services firms to apply a risk-based approach when assessing clients. The firm doesn’t disclose the investors’ risk categories as the risk assessment process is only done for internal purposes.

Funding Souq has been developed on our proprietary server. Funding Souq has leveraged the “best in breed” security features such as encryption, identity and access management, and network security. These features are applied across the whole platform from the holding of data, application access, web communications, and back office operations. We are committed to implement and continuously improve security-aware software development, operational management, and threat-mitigation practices that are essential to the strong protection of services and data.

The platform acts as a marketplace for investors looking to lend their money and businesses seeking funding. Investors can register on the website and if approved they will be allowed to deposit funds onto the platform or lend to businesses directly. As the businesses repay, the investor can choose whether to re-invest or withdraw their funds. Businesses seeking to borrow funds can go through the registration process and, if successful, will be asked to provide supporting documents. Once received, Funding Souq will conduct extensive due diligence on the underlying business and in turn either approve or reject the financing request. If approved, a fundraising campaign will be launched, and approved investors will have the option to finance the request. Conditional to the finance request being fully funded, the funds will be released and sent to the business. Funding Souq will manage the repayment process and facilitate installments made by the borrowers to the corresponding investors.

CRS is an information gathering and reporting requirement for financial institutions to help fight against tax evasion and protect the integrity of tax systems. For more information, please refer to the OECD website.

Financial institutions are required to identify clients who are tax residents outside the country where their accounts are domiciled and further relay the information to the local tax authorities. The tax authority may share the information with the authorities in the country where you are classified as a tax resident.

Funding Souq offers financing between AED 50k - AED 500k on terms of 3-24 months.

Funding Souq will notify the lenders as soon as practically possible if it comes across any information about a material change in the borrower’s circumstances. It will provide details to the lenders of the material change, any change in their rights arising from this material change, and subsequent actions Funding Souq intends to take.

Investors will need to provide a passport (or an equivalent document), a proof of address, employment information and information on the source of funds. This list is not exhaustive and hence additional information may be requested on a case by case basis. Professional investors will need to provide additional documents in order to satisfy KYC requirements. More details on the required documentation for professional investors can be obtained on  [email protected].

Funding Souq will notify the lenders as soon as practically possible if it comes across any information about material change in borrower’s circumstances. If lenders have not already funded any campaign, Funding Souq will request lenders to re-confirm their commitment within 5 business days. Funding Souq will have to cancel the funding commitment if the requisite confirmation from the lender is not received within the prescribed period.

The term KYC stands for “Know Your Customer” and is used throughout the client identification process. The pre-set KYC rules by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) are the standard requirements that need to be followed by all regulated entities. This includes identity verification, proof of address, employment information, and other general information. Investors need to clear all KYC requirements prior to being onboarded on the Funding Souq platform. The compliance department will conduct ongoing KYC checks to ensure information is constantly updated.

Business undergo an extensive due-diligence process that is led by our credit team. The risk assessments analyse the businesses and financial performance as well as qualitative facts such as the strength of the management team, industry appeal etc. These are a fraction of the actual data points that we use to formulate a view on the individual business. The final stage in the due diligence process is a site visit for further assurance. Once a business clears all due diligence, it is listed on the Funding Souq marketplace.

Loans originated by Funding Souq are aimed to support business expansion including working capital and therefore are unsecured against assets. However, to reduce default risk, businesses need to provide the necessary guarantees in line with UAE practices. This includes an undated but signed cheque for the total loan amount and at least one personal guarantee which is drafted under DIFC law.

Click the “Get started” button on the homepage and follow the steps. Upon completing the online registration process including accepting the Terms and Conditions, you will receive an e-mail requesting passport copies and proof of residence (Emirates ID, tenancy contract, utility bill or employment letter) which you will need to send to  [email protected].  Your details will be checked, and you will be notified that you have been successfully onboarded within 3 working days. At times, additional documents may be required.

The maximum funds that can be deposited in a calendar year (January-December) is $180,000. To keep track, the remaining amount can be reviewed in the Add/Withdraw funds tab. This is a regulatory requirement and if you would like to be exempted, you must be classified as a Professional Investor.

The minimum funding requirement to set-up an account on Funding Souq is $500.

Retail investors are limited to $5,000 per business. This limit is placed automatically by the platform. The minimum investable amount is $50.

To be classified as a professional investor, you need to have net assets in excess of $1m excluding your primary residence. If you satisfy these criteria, please contact [email protected]  and you will be invited to meet a company representative who will determine whether you have the necessary experience and explain the associated risks of becoming a professional investor.

An investor account enters “wind down” status once it is suspended due to mandatory documentation being out of date. The Funding Souq team will contact you for the required document and only in case of no reply or insufficient documents. If your account enters “wind down” status, you will only be allowed to make fund withdrawals. Once the required documentation has been provided, your account will be re-activated.

Repayments will be deposited to your Funding Souq account on the platform from which you will be able to withdraw funds under the “Transfer” tab. Once a “withdraw request” is initiated you will receive the funds within 3 working days in your bank account. As per our Terms and Conditions, investor funds can only be withdrawn after 90 days from the date of deposit. This is to satisfy our anti-money laundering procedures.

Investor funds are kept in a fully segregated client monies account operated by Emirates NBD that complies fully with the DFSA’s Conduct of Business module, Application 5.

Investors can earn average return of 10% or more by lending to established SMEs. The return will depend on the internally generated credit rating and the tenure of the loan.

Businesses undergo a comprehensive due-diligence process that helps Funding Souq determine their riskiness. We analyze each business’s financial performance, credit score, and credit score of its director/s. Depending on the collected data, we formulate a view and assign a credit rating to the business. This credit rating determines the pricing at which the business can borrow on the platform.

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