P2P funding has recently gained significant momentum and recognition in the UAE. For investors, it offers high interest rates and allows for passive income generation. For SMEs, it connects them with capital in small amounts from individual lenders.
This guide will help users to find the top P2P lending platforms with the highest ROI in the UAE.
What is P2P Lending
Peer-to-Peer lending is a modern-day financing model which equips borrowers to lend from investors without the intermediation of banks. These borrowers are often small and medium enterprises who are in need of quick funding without bureaucracy, while it gives lenders the opportunity to diversify their portfolio.
One of the appeals of P2P funding is the higher returns that investors get as compared to conventional saving accounts. Simultaneously, SMEs can capitalize on a larger pool of investors, which enables expansion and consistent growth. This creates a mutually beneficial outcome for both parties involved, by promoting financial inclusion and offering competitive interest rates.
Funding Souq
Funding Souq is a direct lending platform in the UAE and KSA that connects SMEs seeking borrow with debt investors all around the globe. Founded by Martin Jaouni in 2020, Funding Souq connects investors that want to raise funding in ranges between $20,000-150,000, enabling them to receive an advertised IRR of 26 %, and expected net yield of 15 percent and investments can be made with 1000 SAR. The benefit for businesses with Funding Souq is that funding is between 100,000 to 1 million SAR. Additionally, Funding Souq takes measures of protecting data of its clients through employment of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems to monitor and analyze security events in real time.
Beehive
Beehive, established in 2014, is the first digital lending platform for SMEs in the MENA region and operates under the regulation of the DFSA. The platform serves the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. Investors can start with a minimum investment of just AED 500 and can anticipate an average annual percentage rate (APR) of 10% to 14%. Beehive welcomes both private and institutional investors from around the globe. For businesses, financing options range from AED 100,000 to AED 2 million, depending on the sector, with repayment periods between 6 and 36 months. To date, Beehive has successfully raised 3 billion AED for various enterprises.
Liwwa
Founded in 2013 in Amman, Jordan, Liwwa specializes in P2P lending for SMEs, which are affordable and collateral free, up to 100,000 U.S Dollars, investment return can reach an avr of 13.5%. Liwwa has raised over 53.4 million Dollars from investors. Some of its major investors are Capital Bank of Jordan, Jordan Kuwait Bank and Triodos Bank. Moving forward, Liwwa has expanded its footprint across the MENA region, through its intuative online interface and robust security protocols.
Ajar Online
Ajar Online is one of the top cloud-based fintech platform founded by Shaheen Alkhudhari in 2016. They are widely recognized for digitalizing rent collection and property management in the Middle East. The company heavily relies on market education releasing several studies and collaborating with government entities to help them understand the real estate market.
For investors, Ajar Online’s user-friendly portal and automated features translate to reduced overhead costs and operational transparency. While it does not provide a traditional P2P lending model in the same sense as other platforms, its focus on real estate management and digital payment solutions.
Yielders
Yielders is a UK-based, Sharia-compliant real estate crowd investing platform and it has garnered interest from investors across the GCC, including the UAE. Yielders has an ethical investment business model, it hasn’t any mortgage, interest, debt or hidden fees. The platform typically advertises annual average rental income of over 6 percent net.
With as little as 100 pounds, you can buy a share of any chosen property, making it accessible for both retail and institutional participants. Yielders operates under the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations, which allows for a structured framework for security and due diligence. For UAE-based investors looking to capitalize on Sharia-compliant real estate offerings, Yielders is a credible and transparent option.
Kiva
Kiva, founded in 2005 by Matt and Jessica Flannery, is a nonprofit based in the US that has grown into one of the world’s largest crowdfunding platforms for microloans. While Kiva is not a typical P2P platform for profit, it still attracts participants from around the world who wish to support global entrepreneurs.
Kiva works with lending partnership in more than 77 countries. These Investors, or rather lenders, on Kiva can browse through borrower profiles across various countries, including small businesses in the MENA region. They contribute to the loan and get paid back by the principal. In addition to microloans, lending partners offer services like financial literacy programs and business training.
Crowd Credit
Crowd Credit is a cross-border P2P lending platform based in Tokyo. Founded in 2013 by Tomoyuki Sugiyama, it links investors with borrowers from abroad.. As of Feb 2024, Crowd credit has loaned up to 20 million USD, with a loan tenor of 1 year.
One of Crowd Credit’s distinguishing features is its loans that are denominated in diverse currencies, including local currencies, that provide our borrowers with a means to hedge against market fluctuations. This clarity helps investors gauge how best to allocate their funds across different sectors and geographies. They do not charge any Investment fees but charge a management fee up to 4 percent.
Lendico
Launched in Germany in 2013 as a P2P lending marketplace facilitating business and personal loans, Lendico, was designed with the intension of making the lending process easy. They operate on a risk-based pricing model to determine repayment on loans. Though originally focused on European markets, it has gained attention among UAE-based investors seeking diversification of their assets internationally for a period of 12 to 60 months.
Borrowers using the platform can request loans between 1000-25,000 Euros from lenders with interest rates starting at 2.99 per cent. Applicants only receive the loan if they raise the full amount. In Feb 2018, Lendico was bought by ING Deutschland.
Investree
Investree is an ASEAN-based B2B lending platform co-founded by Adrian Gunadi and Reynold Wijaya in 2015. It focuses primarily on SME financing, helping small and medium-sized enterprises secure funding while offering investors attractive returns that can range from about 6 to 26 percent, depending on the project’s risk profile.
While Investree’s core market is Southeast Asia, its growing international interest has caught the attention of global investors, including those from the GCC. Investree emphasis on borrower transparency and regulatory compliance approved by the SEC. This makes it extremely attractive for both SMEs and investors.
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