Dubai-based fintech startup Comfi, which provides financial services to businesses, has raised US$65 million in a pre-Series A funding round that includes both equity and debt. The company will use this money to grow its operations and expand into more markets across the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa).
The equity (ownership) part of the funding was led by UAE-based VC firm Iliad Partners. Other investors included Yango Ventures from Dubai and Raw Ventures from the UK, and this was their first investment in the region. A family office also took part in the round.
Along with equity investment, Comfi also received additional financial support. This includes a credit facility from US-based Partners for Growth and a mezzanine financing deal arranged by UAE-based firm Shorooq. Together, these funds will help the company grow and expand its business.
Sanjar Samiev, Co-founder and CEO of Comfi, commented, “We built Comfi from firsthand experience with how disruptive payment cycles can be to an SME’s operations. When you’re waiting over 60 days to get paid, you can’t invest in inventory, hire the right people, or take on new opportunities, you’re just surviving. We’re fixing that by combining embedded finance with AI-driven risk and underwriting to unlock capital instantly, without the friction of traditional lending. This Pre-Series A round gives us the resources to scale our products, strengthen our regional partnerships, and expand access to fast, reliable working capital across MENA.”
Christos Mastoras, Founder and Managing Partner of Iliad Partners, commented, “We invest in technology companies that strengthen and digitise the core infrastructure of the GCC economy. Comfi is doing exactly that, tackling one of the most fundamental pain points in the region: access to working capital for SMEs. By combining AI-driven underwriting with disciplined risk management, the team has built a scalable platform designed for real-economy impact. We have been consistently impressed by Sanjar and his co-founders’ clarity of vision, speed of execution, and disciplined approach. We are proud to lead this round as Comfi scales across MENA and beyond as a trusted financing partner to thousands of SMEs powering regional growth.”
Armineh Baghoomian, Managing Director, Head of EMEA, and Co-Head of Global Fintech at Partners for Growth, added, “We are pleased to deepen our partnership with Comfi as the company enters its next growth phase. Comfi’s strong model and innovative approach reflect the ambition, energy and hard work of Sanjar, Alisher, Amal and Denis, and we have been consistently impressed by the team’s execution. The business is a great fit with PFG’s structured credit strategy and our focus on backing high-growth, category-defining companies across the GCC.”
Joe Barron, Credit Principal at Shorooq, commented, “Across the GCC, SME liquidity constraints are not a demand problem – they are a structural financing problem. What stood out to us about Comfi was not just the growth but its ability to execute and underwrite credit risk utilising its proprietary engine with real transaction data. From our perspective as credit investors, that creates a more resilient and scalable model than traditional working capital lending. We believe platforms like Comfi will become critical financial infrastructure for the region’s supply chains, and we’re excited to support the team as they institutionalize and expand this model across the GCC.”
Founded in 2023 by Alisher Akbarov, Amal Abdullaev and Sanjar Samiev, Comfi is a fintech company that helps businesses like manufacturers and suppliers manage payments more easily. It allows suppliers to give their buyers flexible payment time of up to 90 days, while still getting their own money within 24 hours. This helps solve a common problem in business where payments take a long time, which can create cash flow issues for small and medium companies.
Since it started, Comfi says it has handled more than 15,000 invoices. It also works with over 4,000 finance professionals and serves more than 1,000 business clients, helping them manage payments in a smoother and faster way.
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