Emkan Finance powers SME growth with IBM

Emkan Finance, a Saudi Arabian fintech company fully owned by Al Rajhi Bank, is transforming SME financing in the Kingdom. Aligned with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy and increase SME contribution to GDP, Emkan provides a cutting-edge digital platform that offers SMEs easy access to financing. Recognizing the challenges SMEs face in securing funding, Emkan partnered with IBM to develop a bespoke SME digital financing product that adheres to Islamic financing laws.

To address the financial needs of SMEs, Emkan sought a solution that could handle the diverse requirements of these businesses. One-to-one integrations posed scalability and maintenance challenges, potentially impacting time-to-market. IBM Cloud Pak for Integration was selected to build a robust architecture for the SME digital financing product, simplifying deployment, management, and maintenance of the hybrid cloud environment. IBM Instana was also integrated to monitor the performance and health of applications and infrastructure, enhancing the user experience.

The implementation of IBM Cloud Pak for Integration enabled Emkan to establish a security-rich connection of mission-critical data from various systems and applications. This included integration with core banking, anti-money laundering (AML) systems, customer relationship management (CRM), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The platform offers market data visibility, personalized services, and smoother customer experiences. The end-to-end digital service covers new customer registration and loan disbursements all online, allowing SMEs to better assess and manage their financial risks.

Value Results:

• Accelerated Time to Market: Achieved a 3x faster time to market for the SME digital financing product.

• Enhanced Integration: Seamlessly integrated with internal and external APIs, providing comprehensive market data visibility.

• Improved Customer Experience: Offered personalized services and smoother customer experiences through a flexible, self-service omnichannel product.

• Real-time Visibility: Gained real-time visibility into application performance and infrastructure metrics via IBM Instana, enabling proactive issue resolution and continuous improvement.

• Modernized Operations: Transformed operations by providing SMEs with quick and easy access to capital, supporting better financial risk management.