Shams opens up funding for startups with partnership with Funding Souq

10x Industry

Mita Srinivasan
10x Industry
Published:

Shams opens up funding for startups with partnership with Funding Souq

Under the agreement, Shams will introduce businesses in need of loan facilities to Funding Souq, while the latter refers existing borrowers or potential ones to Shams, where the most promising ventures can be allowed to benefit from Shams’ various facilities. The agreement aims to provide financing facilities for start-ups and SMEs through its crowdfunding platform while Shams offers loan repayment guarantees.

Sharjah Media City (Shams) is expanding support for entrepreneurial ventures in the media sector through a strategic partnership and guarantee scheme agreement with venture debt platform, Funding Souq. The agreement aims to provide financing facilities for start-ups and SMEs through its crowdfunding platform while Shams offers loan repayment guarantees.

Under the agreement, Shams will introduce businesses in need of loan facilities to Funding Souq, while the latter refers existing borrowers or potential ones to Shams, where the most promising ventures can be allowed to benefit from Shams’ various facilities. The programme offers flexible financing schemes ranging from 3 to 24 months and has already registered its first beneficiary and success story with Pansoft, an IT solutions provider technology consulting firm catering to corporations and government clients alike.

His Excellency Dr. Khalid Omar Al Midfa, Chairman of Shams, said: “Securing funding remains among the most daunting challenges for start-ups to overcome at various stages of their development, and as part of our mission to build an environment that supports entrepreneurship, innovation, and creative thinkers in the media and creativity sector, Shams sought to set up new opportunities for our community of start-ups and SMEs to benefit from. The strategic partnership with Funding Souq will bring advanced solutions to this issue not only for our community, but also for innovative media companies from the wider ecosystem where we can see promising growth opportunities.”

Martin Jaouni, Funding Souq CEO, said: “This partnership will allow Funding Souq to accelerate its support towards media and tech companies by offering quick and reliable business loans. I would like to thank Dr. Khalid Al Midfa and his team for initiating this partnership and recognising the need for better SME funding options.”

Founded in 2020, Funding Souq operates a loan crowdfunding platform under authorisation from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), which acts as an online marketplace where borrowers connect directly with lenders willing to provide them with loans between USD20,000 and USD150,000.