SME Fintech Exploration for Saudi Arabia

Small and medium businesses in Saudi Arabia face financial infrastructure designed for consumers, not commerce. Traditional banks have slow transfers and high fees, consumer fintech apps have bolted-on business features, low transaction limits, and interfaces that don't account for the operational complexity of running a business in a Sharia-compliant market.

I led the complete design of TIJARA, a fintech concept for the Saudi market, across a ten-week engagement that began with competitor analysis of four existing solutions and interviews with three local industry experts serving as proxies for SME owners, revealing that existing products failed to address invoice management, multi-currency needs, or the cultural and regulatory requirements specific to Saudi commerce.

From this research, I developed the product strategy, brand identity (the name TIJARA means "commerce" in Arabic, with blue chosen to convey trust), information architecture, and dual-language interface supporting both Arabic right-to-left and English left-to-right layouts without direct translation (nuance matters in financial contexts) while designing for Sharia compliance and integration with local payment rails like STC Pay.

The resulting concept includes instant invoice generation with payment links, expense tracking, multi-currency support, and cash flow management tailored specifically to SME operational needs rather than retrofitted from consumer banking patterns, delivered as an interactive prototype that demonstrates how purpose-built financial tools can serve businesses that existing solutions overlook.