Alea Global Investment Group to have a session on Blockchain in trade Finance at KSA event

Alea Global Investment Group to have a session on Blockchain in trade Finance at KSA event

Alea Global Group will be holding their edition of Alea Sessions in Riyadh KSA. The one day gathering under the theme ‘The New Opportunities in Investment in the New Saudi Arabia’ will gather 100 of the GCC and MENA region’s top family offices. The event will include a session on Blockchain in Trade Finance.

Alea Global Group is a conglomerate single family business formed in 1998 in the State of Kuwait owned by a member of Al Duaij family. The one day event will discuss private debts and CLOs, trade finance, mezzanine debt, open banking, micro and macro banking environments, and Saudi Arabia’s unicorns.

The Alea Sessions is a series of irregular but responsive events held by Alea Group Group which are held when there is a need to address important topics that need to be addressed and which our followers would like to talk about. These events are usually shorter than their Family Office Summits, with a more focused programme. They may occur anywhere in the world, and also online.

Some of the highlighted speakers will include Essam Albakr Founder & CEO, Ejada Capital, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mark Mobius, Founding Partner, Mobius Capital Partners, Mirna Sleiman Founder & CEO, Fintech Galaxy, UAE, Omar AlShabaan Co-Founder & CEO, The Space, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Talal AlBakr Entrepreneur, CEO of SCCC, co-founded Embark Ventures, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz M. Alfakhri Board Director, CFO, CIO, Investments & Finance Executive, Angel Investor, Advisor, Mentor & Public Speaker, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ajay Sunkara President & Co-Founder, Nala Robotics, USA , Ashar Nazim CEO, Aion Digital, Kingdom of Bahrain as well as Rabih I. Khoury Managing Partner & Chief Exit Officer Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and many others.

One of the sessions at the event will discuss the topic of how blockchain will shape trade finance. It will discuss how to overcome obstacles and find a competitive advantage in trade finance. Panelists will include Zineb Tamtaoui, Senior Executive Officer, Head Of Middle East Region, Chez BMCE BANK International Plc, and UAE Kevin Ramsamy, CFO, Barak Fund Management, Mauritius.

This is an interesting topic to be discussed at a family office event but not surprising given the latest stance taken by Saudi Arabian Finance Minister, Mohamed Al Jadaan in a TV interview with Bloomberg during the WEF 2023.

As per the interview Saudi Arabia is open to discussions about trade in currencies other than the US dollar. He states, “There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal.”

“I don’t think we are waving away or ruling out any discussion that will help improve the trade around the world,” Al-Jadaan said.

Blockchain could just be one of the ways KSA is looking to improve trade around the world.

In November 2022, Saudi Arabian, Saudi British Bank (SABB) utilized the Contour Blockchain platform to enhance trade finance by improving letter of credit and guarantee procedures for enterprises and international businesses. SABB worked with local fintech entity Bwatech.

In addition Saudi Arabian Taajeer Group, the exclusive agent for MG cars in the KSA utilized the Blockchain enabled Contour platform in its importing of cars from China. HSBC, Chinese SAIC Motor, and KSA Taajeer group executed a successful blockchain enabled trade finance transaction on the Contour platform.

Could this be the culmination of Saudi government strategy, and some blockchain success stories. Jut follow the money and all will be revealed.

KSA NFT marketplace NuqtahNFT sponsors KSA LEAP event

KSA NFT marketplace NuqtahNFT sponsors KSA LEAP event

KSA Web 3 NFT Marketplace, NuqtahNFT sponsors LEAP tech convention that will be taking place in Riyadh Saudi Arabia from February 6th-9th 2023. 

LEAP is one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest annual tech events. A yearly 3-day tech convention held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It is the largest debut tech event as of 2022, with over 100,000 attendees worldwide. It is co-organized by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Informa Tech, and the Saudi Federation For Cybersecurity, Programming, and Drones.

Wajd Badawi, Head of Operations at NuqtahNFT, commented: “We are very excited about this partnership. Part of our mission is to enable individuals and institutions in Saudi with Web 3.0 technologies, and LEAP is a great platform for us to showcase the different use-cases through the NFTs activations we are providing.” 

This agreement is pushing the current boundaries of the Saudi NFTs scene with various activations powered by NuqtahNFT. Such as Digital Collectibles to be gifted to VIP attendees as Photography NFTs of a curated collection of photographs by Saudi photographers’ that showcases the beauty of Saudi Arabia’s landscape from all around Saudi. NuqtahNFT are also providing LEAP with variety of NFTs to be displayed at the exhibition. Additionally, NuqtahNFT developed a “Community Pass”, an exclusive collection with variety of utilities for LEAP’s community in which they can benefit from at LEAP 2024.

Badawi commented: “Our main objective from this partnership is to give a platform to the Saudi and regional Originators, educate global and local attendees about Saudi Arabia’s heritage and support tourism through art and technology and increase the adoption of Web 3.0 applications such as NFTs in the Kingdom. And for that, we want to express our thanks to LEAP for allowing us to be the first Saudi company to provide these solutions.”

Saudi Arabia launches its national wholesale CBDC project between local banks

Saudi Arabia launches its national wholesale CBDC project between local banks

The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) released a press release where it confirmed that the Central Bank is continuing to experiment on Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC).  SAMA is currently working on a project that focuses on domestic or national wholesale CBDC use case in collaboration with local banks and FinTech’s.

Experts explained to LaraontheBlock that this is a CBDC for local wholesale bank settlements. 

This project is part of SAMA’s ongoing research and experimentation on CBDC. SAMA is seeking to research and explore the economic impact, market readiness, and  potential robust and fast applications of a CBDC based payment solution. 

As per the news, SAMA seeks to review policy, legal and regulatory considerations before moving to the next phases of the CBDC journey to contribute to achieving the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.

H.E. Fahad Almubarak, Governor of SAMA stated “Local banks and payment companies will always be a cornerstone of this project and its implementation, we have engaged both local banks and FinTech’s, as well as other market players and third party consulting and technology providers, to gain a better understanding of CBDC’s functionality and to test various design options.” 

Noted as well, is that SAMA will continue to experiment on CBDC solution as an infrastructure enabler of innovation in financial services that has the potential to contribute to a more resilient payment ecosystem and accelerate digital transformation in the local financial sector.

SAMA stresses that although no decision has been made regarding the introduction of CBDC in the Kingdom, it continues to focus on exploring the benefits and potential risks of implementing CBDC. This will contribute to informed decision-making within SAMA and to CBDC explorations within the central banking community.

Prior to this announcement, SAMA had hired Mohsen Al Zahrani as Head of Virtual assets and CBDC program. This seems to be the first fruit of efforts made. 

In 2020  SAMA successfully conducted CBDC experiment “Project Aber” in 2019, an initiative in collaboration with the Central Bank of the UAE to examine whether distributed ledger technology could contribute to seamless cross-border payments.

During the 2023 World Economic Forum’s session on Financial Institutions innovating under pressure, the Saudi Arabian Minister of Finance Mohammed Al Jadaan states that while CBDCs have privacy issues they are fantastic tool in developing countries.

KSA Minister of Finance: CBDCs are a fantastic tool for developing countries

KSA Minister of Finance: CBDCs are a fantastic tool for developing countries

During the World Economic Forum’s session’ Financial Institutions innovating under pressure’ The Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan stated that while CBDCs have privacy issues they are a fantastic tool in developing countries.

While the panel discussed the risks that crypto and new technologies were posing especially given that crypto losses were over $1 trillion in 2022, most agreed that the regulation was a key element in mitigating these risks.

Saudi Finance Minister Al Jadaan also believes that the real risks of these innovations haven’t even been seen yet, and the one incident with the loss of 12 zeros has triggered a lot of thinking of what needs to be done.

He believes that Central Banks, traditional financial institutions and even innovators in Fintech need to discuss how to deal with Anti Money laundering issues, terrorism financing and entities that use these technologies to circumvent the regulatory framework.

When discussing CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currencies) Al Jadaan noted “Whether CBDCs and similar government sponsored currencies one will need to think about privacy.” He believes that the minute a government issues a CBDC or government sponsored cryptocurrency there is a compromise on privacy.

He states, “There is a lot of data to whoever is holding that currency.”

Yet he believes that CBDC is a fantastic tool in developing countries. He explains, “It can be used as a social safety net. CBDC can be used by people to exclusively buy milk, rice, oil but may not be allowed for other items.” He notes that while on one hand it is beneficial the other side of it is the risk of privacy invasion. ‘Bottom line no perfect solution.

Saudi Arabia piloted a CBDC with the UAE under the name ABER. The report on the final project was positive from a technical standpoint and the report highlighted the need for further use case trials.

In addition in July 2022, the Central Bank of KSA hired former Accenture Director Mr. Mohsen Alzahrani to lead the virtual asset and Central Bank Digital currency project at the bank.

It seems KSA is still studying the impact of CBDC implementation and is worried about the issue of privacy infringement.

Blockchain enabled payment solutions provider partners in KSA to offer ewallet payments to Hajj Pilgrims

Blockchain enabled payment solutions provider partners in KSA to offer ewallet payments to Hajj Pilgrims

KSA based Geidea, a leading fintech company in Saudi Arabia and Blockchain based payments solutions, WadzPay Middle East Technology (affiliate of WadzPay Worldwide) have forged a new strategic partnership to power the transformation of pilgrimage payments.

Geidea is utilizing the issuance of an e-money wallet, specifically for Hajj and Umrah, to be used in over one million point-of-sale (POS) terminals deployed across multiple merchants throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

WadzPay blockchain-based payment solutions allow Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to set up their own e-Money wallets on their mobile devices to be used for their expenses. Once the wallet is loaded, the pilgrim is ready to spend in Saudi Arabia with lower transaction fees and a user-friendly refund process.


According to Mastercard’s latest Global Destination Cities Index, Mecca attracted $20 billion in tourist dollars in 2018, second only to Dubai. The number of pilgrims is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, with the Kingdom has set a goal to host 30 million pilgrims by 2030,  in line with Saudi Vision 2030.

This year, the hajj rituals were performed by at least one million pilgrims worldwide after two years of restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

WadzPay partnered with Algorand, a high-performance, next-generation ISO 20022 and Sharia-compliant blockchain with a roadmap to 46,000 transactions per second to deliver industry-leading stability and near-instant finality to its clients.

WadzPay Founder and Group CEO Anish Jain said, “I am delighted to team up with Geidea to deliver the absolute best in payments experience for pilgrims. Saudi Arabia is home to the annual Hajj and Umrah, about one million people from nearly two hundred countries perform these pilgrimages; with Geidea merchant and POS networks, WadzPay is also enabling merchants to benefit from faster, secure and seamless payments”.

Renier Lemmens, CEO at Geidea said, “The pilgrim market is an incredibly important part of the Saudi economy, which is why we are thrilled to partner with WadzPay in a move that will unlock vast SME business success for merchants across the Kingdom. The integration of an e-wallet into over a million merchant POS systems will also make transactions faster and safer for the millions of pilgrims that visit Hajj and Umrah every year – and we’re delighted to be able to help them on their way.”

Sailesh Malhotra, GM, GCC at Geidea, said: “This partnership enables us to offer our merchants and pilgrims a best-in-class experience whenever they make payments. The delivery of a swift transaction process for merchants – and a seamless payment experience for pilgrims – are critical drivers for this partnership goal.”

WadzPay, which was awarded Top 10 Most Promising Payment and Merchant Service Providers by SiliconIndia Magazine 2021, is a leading blockchain payment technology, solution and service provider. It operates in and serves partners and clients across APAC, MENA, Africa and the United States.

Geidea is a leading fintech and fully licensed payment service provider offering digital banking technologies, smart payment terminals and business management solutions for both financial institutions and small businesses in retail and digital commerce across the region.

Saudi Arabia launches Blockchain SMS tracking system to decrease fraud

Saudi Arabia launches Blockchain SMS tracking system to decrease fraud

Saudi Arabia’s Information and Communication technology Commission has launched a blockchain enabled identity tracking management system for Bulk SMS messages in an effort to decrease fraud and enhance trust in Bulk messaging service offerings.

The CITC utilized blockchain technology in both the governance and management of the system. The solution was launched during the Digital Technology Forum 2022 in KSA.

CITC explained that this system will track 34,000 trusted SMS service providers  as well as decrease the operational cost for sending bulk SMS by these service providers by 66 percent. The blockchain enabled system will also  decrease the time needed to process requests by 60 percent. In addition 20,000 governmental and private sector entities will benefit from this system.

The Blockchain enabled digital tracking management system will serve more than 46 million people as well as 25 local SMS service providers. The innovative solution aims to protect users and instill trust in service providers.

Interestingly the KSA Digital technology Forum dedicated a whole day on blockchain technology. The panel discussions included topics such as harnessing the Power of Blockchain for Digital Government with speakers from IBM, CasperLabs, and Oracle.

The forum also saw the participation of blockchain entities from the region including Avanza Innovations based out of UAE which showcased its enterprise blockchain, metaverse and Web3.0 success stories to KSA government and private sector.

Another Blockchain entity IR4ILab based out of KSA also participated at the Forum.

In addition Seamless KSA which will be held during first week of November 2022 will also host blockchain solution providers including DT One.

Not only that but in a press release from Seamless, it states that there will be discussions led by Mohsen Al Zahrani, head of virtual assets and CBDC initiative at Saudi Central Bank, given the accommodating stance that KSA is showing towards blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions.

So has Saudi started its blockchain, and crypto journey, it seems so!

Saudi Car agent utilizes blockchain platform for trade transaction with China

Saudi Car agent utilizes blockchain platform for trade transaction with China

Saudi Arabian Taajeer Group, the exclusive agent for MG cars in the Kingdom has utilized the Blockchain enabled Contour platform in its importing of cars from China. HSBC, Chinese SAIC Motor, and KSA Taajeer group executed a successful blockchain enabled trade finance transaction on the Contour platform.

As per the news this is a regional first for the automotive sector and a first in KSA.

Contour is a digital trade finance network that is building a global standard for trade by bringing together the world’s banks, corporates and ecosystem partners, onto a common, digital, and trusted network.

The Contour platform enabled end-to-end digitisation of the credit documentation required for Taajeer to import a shipment of cars from SAIC in a process that is up to 10 times faster than using physical documents. 

Chaker Zeraiki, Head of Global Trade & Receivables Finance for HSBC UAE, said: “Our digitising at scale means making customers’ lives easier and, with Contour it means we’re cutting costs, reducing risk and speeding up trade. Bringing these benefits to the automotive sector and Saudi Arabia are a measure of our international connectivity and our global leadership in trade banking.”

Trade finance powers much of global trade and, according to HSBC, distributed ledger technology has the potential to reduce transaction times from between five and ten days to under 24 hours, therefore unlocking working capital and enabling more trade to be conducted between markets.

Carl Wegner, CEO of Contour said: “This transaction marks an important milestone in the Middle East’s automotive sector, proving that distributed ledger technology is successfully transforming the trade finance ecosystem. We are excited about the potential of wider adoption in this sector, as having a digital trade solution is no longer an option, but the new standard for the industry.”

The use of Contour’s platform also makes the transactions more secure as data shared on the network are indisputable and transparent, reducing the risk of fraud.

Tom Lee, Managing Director of MG Motor Middle East, owned by the SAIC Group, said: “It brings me great joy to continue to offer ‘best-in-class’ service through an integrated supply-chain programme that can make our operations even more seamless. With HSBC as our partner, we will proactively provide solutions to ensure our customers’ demands are met safely and on schedule. I believe that our bright future is filled with opportunities and our customers can rest assured they will be met with consistent high-quality supply from us, anytime and anywhere in the Middle East region.”

The transaction is also a first in Saudi Arabia where, according to David Leslie, General Manager of the Trade Finance Business at SABB, increased digitisation is aligned to the Vision 2030 initiative to make the Kingdom a regional trade hub. “Blockchain can significantly reduce friction and increase the pace of trade for companies trading with Saudi Arabian entities.”

KSA’s Saudi National day to be held in Decentraland metaverse

KSA’s Saudi National day to be held in Decentraland metaverse

KSA Bold Group, a creative advertising agency, has partnered with King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives ( Darah) to bring Saudi National day to the Decentraland metaverse.

For Saudi Arabia’s 92nd Saudi National Day Celebration, participants will experience Saudi Culture in a new digital realm, the metaverse. The virtual Saudi National Day celebration will begin on the 22nd of September until the 24th of September 2022.

For this pioneering initiative, The Bold Group collaborated with King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) to make the user experience come to life. This strategic partnership will enable an authentic immersive experience as both Darah strive to make Saudi Arabia’s history and culture accessible to the world, and to educate future generations on the full breadth of the Kingdom’s great heritage.

 Abeer Alessa, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Bold Group said, “We are activating the metaverse in an impactful way by paying tribute to Saudi National Day. Fusing our past with our future, we are honouring the storied history of the Kingdom, preserving our heritage and displaying it with pride for people to engage with in the new digital realm.” Our focus has always been to bring value to our partners and community, and this unique experience paves the way for others to discover exciting new opportunities in the market. In line with the Kingdom’s transformative outlook for the Vision 2030, The Bold Group embraces the change and strives to be the pioneer of new and emerging technologies in the digital sphere.”

The Bold Group’s multi-faceted Saudi National Day experience in the metaverse will be held on the ‘Decentraland metaverse. It will feature multiple layers of Saudi culture in an open-air museum, with each level displaying various representations of the beauty of Saudi Arabia. The experience will also feature exclusively tailored Saudi national attire, created and inspired by the different regions of the Kingdom. These iconic pieces will be made available as wearable NFTs for event visitors. The Bold Group will also be providing the POAP (Proof of Attendance Protocol) as a limited edition collectible NFT for users to showcase with pride their participation in the world’s first Saudi National Day metaverse celebration.

Ziad AbuRjaily, Creative Technology Director in the Bold Experience Unit said, ” The idea to usher the Saudi National Day, a historically traditional celebration, into the new era of technology was inspired by the challenge of convening people across the Kingdom’s 13 different regions to celebrate Saudi Arabia in one virtual space.”

Saudi Aramco invests millions into Blockchain smart contract provider

Saudi Aramco invests millions into Blockchain smart contract provider

For the fourth time since 2019, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, a subsidiary of Saudi Aramco has participated in an investment round in Data Gumbo, the blockchain enabled smart contract provider. This time Data Gumbo raised 4 million USD in its Series C round led by Saudi Aramco Ventures and Equinor, Norway’s energy operator.

In 2019, Data Gumbo the Houston based blockchain Technology Company which had developed a Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform to streamline smart contracts management for industrial customers, completed a 6 million USD Series A equity funding round co-led by Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures, and Equinor.

Then in 2020, Data Gumbo, closed its Series B funding round of 4 million USD led by new investor L37, a Bay Area and Houston-based venture capital company, with Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures as a participant in the round.

In 2021 once more Data Gumbo closed a Series B funding round totaling 7.7 million USD with follow-on investments led by Equinor Ventures, and Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures.

So far, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures has been one of the consistent investors in Data Gumbo. So it was no surprise to once again see Saudi Aramco invest in Data Gumbo’s Series C round, and be a lead investor as well. Saudi Aramco given the amount of investments raised to date by Data Gumbo, has definitely invested millions into the startup.

This funding round follows a year of impressive growth for Data Gumbo, which has introduced the first ever Smart Contract Marketplace with forty smart contract templates ready to be deployed for immediate reduction in transactional friction and grown to over 180 enterprises participating in Data Gumbo’s smart contract network.

Data Gumbo also opened its offices in KSA in 2022. At the time Data Gumbo stated that it was establishing a local presence to take advantage of the regional business opportunities ripe for smart contract network adoption.

Commenting on the recent fund raising, William Fox, CEO of Data Gumbo stated, “We have continued to lead the way in the adoption of smart contracts for industrial use. The partnership with Equinor and Saudi Aramco, and their associated supply chains and partnerships, will continue the momentum for the Data Gumbo’s smart contract network.”

By tapping into existing IIoT data sources to trigger confirmation and payment automation of contractual commercial terms, organizations are able to eliminate the time-consuming process of validating invoices and transactions and fully automating the procure-to-pay and order-to-cash processes. 

Data Gumbo plans to expand its reach, helping any organization who captures field data today to streamline their back office processes and realize time and cost savings.

“While we started in energy, we already have value for bulk commodity haulage, trucking and shipping, with plans to parlay our momentum into other global industries,” commented Andrew Bruce, Founder of Data Gumbo. “Wherever two or more organizations share a contractual relationship that can be verified with a digital source of data, opportunities abound to realize efficiencies and cost savings utilizing our blockchain network.”

Frank Andrasco, Senior Investment Director, Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures stated, “Distributed ledger technologies bring win-win efficiencies between industrial companies and their suppliers, and Data Gumbo is at the forefront of introducing this innovation. While they have started in the energy sector, Data Gumbo’s platform has broad industrial applicability.”

To date Saudi Aramco’s Venture arm has participated in all the investment rounds of Data Gumbo, which  has raised a total of close to 21 million USD. One thing known for sure is that Saudi Aramco is backing the Blockchain smart contract service provider, and much more will be seen in the future.

Security token regulations to be issued in Saudi Arabia by end of 2022

Security token regulations to be issued in Saudi Arabia by end of 2022

In an interview with CNBC Al Arabia, Yazeed Saleh Aldemaigi Deputy, Strategy & International Affairs, at Saudi Capital Market Authority (CMA) announced that regulations for Security Token offerings (STO) will be out before the end of 2022 in Saudi Arabia.

As per the interview, application for STO offerings will be available on the CMA digital platform by end of 2022. He added that the Fintech Lab at CMA has been working on finding the most appropriate environments for FinTech startups.

The STO regulations that will come out at the end of 2022 will help to attract foreign investment firms interested in the FinTech domain in KSA as well as support local companies.

The Fintech Lab from CMA was launched in 2017.  It aimed to provide a regulatory framework that is conducive for the innovation of Financial Technology (FinTech) in the capital market within the Kingdom.

One of the business models under the Fintech Lab was related to use of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to arrange the Offering of Securities and Custody Services. It is a platform that uses Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) to arrange the offering of securities (Sukuk as a preliminary stage) to investors, in coordination with the Issuer and the Authorized Person (AP) assigned by the Issuer as an Offering Advisor.