Dubai-based KEN Investments Leads Pioneering Funding In US Fintech Start-up

Dubai-based private equity fund KEN Investments is one of four groups to have ploughed $5.8 million into Salaryo, a fintech platform for US freelancers and start-ups.

Headquartered in New York City with an R&D center in Tel Aviv, Salaryo graduated from the Barclays Techstars fintech accelerator in 2017.

The move marks the first time an Emirati fund has participated in the funding round.

"It took both sides a while to close this investment." said Kentaro Willam, CEO and manager of KEN Investments. "It is the first time we invest in Israeli technology, and Salaryo tackles a large, fast-growing market opportunity of US small businesses."

They were joined in the funding round by Variant Investments, Techstars Ventures and Michael Ullmann’s investment group, bringing its total funding to $12m.

The company plans to use the funds to grow its small business lending activity and to launch new business banking products in 2021.

Salaryo provides fully digital business term loans and lines of credit for small businesses. The company has successfully provided financing to hundreds of businesses since it was founded in 2017.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the company accelerated its growth by offering cash flow relief to small businesses in selected business categories, processing over $60 Million in loan applications year to date.

Yair Levy, CEO and co-founder of Salaryo, said: “The announcement by the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Israel about a peace treaty being negotiated between the two countries, has helped to remove technical barriers that have so far delayed the completion of the investment transaction.

“This pioneer investment pairs Israeli technological innovation with the UAE’s financial expertise and international outreach. The combination of both has endless potential. I look forward to more transactions like this in the near future.”

Salaryo’s lending technology features a fully automated experience, featuring KYC (Know Your Client), financial and professional analysis, payment processing and e-signatures, to make a decision in minutes. Once approved, Salaryo sends funds to the business within 24 hours.

The financing round is composed of both debt and equity financing reaching a total of $5.8 million. US-based fund Variant Investments provided the debt financing, while KEN Investments and US-based Techstars Ventures participated in the equity.