The financial technology sector in Saudi Arabia is experiencing a surge, with the Kingdom becoming a hotspot for fintech development. Fortis, a fintech firm based in the UAE, is introducing its integrated solution that includes point of sale, customer relationship management, payments, and order management to aid small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) within the country.
During a conversation with Arab News, Arseny Kosenko, the executive vice president of Fortis, discussed the company’s immediate and future plans for the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom’s Vision 2030 serves as a potent catalyst for their expansion strategy.
Fortis’s launch in the UAE marks its initial step towards proliferating into the Saudi Arabian market and potentially other regions within the Middle East and North Africa.
“Our ambition is to not only establish ourselves in the UAE but also to explore avenues for growth in additional territories,” Kosenko stated.
A strategic Kingdom
Fortis envisions a profound impact on the Saudi market by offering superior products and services custom-made for the local business landscape and consumer needs.
“Supporting small businesses to grow in tandem with the Kingdom’s plans and Vision 2030 is our objective,” Kosenko affirmed.
The company’s aim is to bolster the operational efficiency of SMEs, which is expected to contribute to the GDP and elevate the technological stature of the Saudi marketplace.
By enhancing interactions between merchants and customers through their advanced omnichannel solutions, Fortis is planning to serve both domestic users and tourists, especially during significant events like Expo 2030.
In the next year, Fortis aspires to cement its presence in the UAE and prepare for expansion across the MENA region. The company is focused on empowering businesses to excel in a digitalized world by enhancing customer engagement and operational efficiency with their suite of digital tools.
SMEs are a crucial segment for us, and how they engage with their clients shapes the evolution of our product.
Arseny Kosenko, EVP of Fortis
To address specific demands in the Saudi market, Fortis is customizing features on their platform to comply with local regulations and business customs.
“Different regions, including Saudi Arabia, may have distinct feature needs or regulatory requirements,” Kosenko explained.
The firm intends to tailor its pricing, marketing approaches, and partnerships to suit the local business climate.
Fortis is dedicated to staying ahead of evolving Saudi regulations by constantly engaging with authorities and ensuring their team is adept in compliance requirements, Kosenko elaborated.
By leveraging technology and automation, Fortis aims to streamline compliance procedures and position itself as a key player in Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation, thus aiding the Kingdom’s economic diversification and boosting local businesses on the global stage.
“Saudi Arabia is proactively enhancing SME financing through regulatory support and digital innovation initiatives. This is perfectly in line with Fortis’s mission to endow SMEs with digital tools that amplify their operational capabilities and market presence,” said Kosenko.
Though details on the official launch and establishment of a local office in Saudi Arabia remain confidential, Kosenko hinted at building effective partnerships to streamline and enrich business operations, customer relations, and overall performance.
Fortis envisions becoming an essential omnichannel platform that facilitates seamless merchant-customer interactions, offering enhanced technological experiences for SMEs and delivering value to larger entities such as banks and utility companies.
With the industry evolving towards sophisticated POS systems that support wide-ranging business management tasks, Fortis plans to capitalize on this trend by continuing to prioritize customer-centricity and simplifying payment processes for an effortless seller-buyer experience.
Business fundamentals
Kosenko shed light on the distinct challenges SMEs face, particularly in harnessing customer data, personalization, and artificial intelligence, which can place them at a competitive disadvantage.
As the Middle East stands at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it emerges as a fertile ground for entrepreneurship, with SMEs being the economic backbone.
“In the UAE, SMEs constitute approximately 94 percent of all companies and employ more than 86 percent of the private sector workforce,” Kosenko highlighted, citing a report by the UAE’s Department of Economic Development.
The same trend of growth and opportunity is apparent in Saudi Arabia, where initiatives like Expo 2030 are expected to spur SME growth.
“Our service model operates on a subscription basis, where clients pay for licenses monthly or annually,” Kosenko elaborated, positioning Fortis as a significant player in the region’s tech landscape and enabling SMEs to manage their operations more effectively.
Even though Fortis has recently entered the market, with operations starting merely three months ago, it is already demonstrating promising revenue growth.
“Discussing profitability at this juncture is premature,” Kosenko remarked, indicating a cautiously optimistic perspective on the company’s financial prospects.
Fortis’s foundation was inspired by the promising niche in the MENA region, which is home to between 19 and 23 million small businesses.
Kosenko outlined key performance indicators such as active and paying customers, gross profit, customer lifetime value, and churn rate that guide Fortis’s regional strategy.
The company successfully secured $20 million in funding led by Opportunity Venture in April, with allocations spread throughout 2024.
Kosenko revealed that these funds are earmarked to bolster the company’s expansion efforts in the MENA region. While exact plans for expansion are still being deliberated, Saudi Arabia stands out as a strong candidate for growth due to its sizable market and numerous development projects.
On the subject of future funding, Kosenko expressed satisfaction with the current financial backing, stressing that the primary focus is on using this investment to expedite product development and market introduction.
“Our primary goal is to rapidly introduce our innovative solution to the market, maximizing financial support to guarantee a successful market debut,” he concluded.
