In a significant stride for Pakistan’s digital finance landscape, Raqami Islamic Digital Bank and Haball have announced a strategic partnership to introduce Shariah‑compliant embedded finance designed specifically for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The collaboration combines Raqami’s status as the country’s first Islamic digital bank with Haball’s expertise in B2B supply chain digitization to deliver financing integrated directly into existing business workflows, without the friction of traditional bank lending processes.
SMEs contribute over 40% of Pakistan’s GDP and employ the majority of the workforce, yet over 90% remain financially underserved. This innovative embedded finance platform aims to address that gap by offering collateral‑free liquidity based on real-time receivables and purchase orders—enabling funding precisely when and where it is needed. This model eliminates the need for asset pledging or lengthy application processes, making it an efficient lifeline for growing enterprises.
The offering features a seamless digital onboarding process, Shariah‑compliant KYC procedures, and a murabaha‑based financing structure tailored for new purchase orders. The system integrates with enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, anchor-led ecosystems, and distributor networks, ensuring users can access finance within their operational software environment. Disbursements are immediate, supported by Islamic financing rails, providing swift cashflow support.
AI‑driven credit scoring forms another key element of the platform: it evaluates creditworthiness using actual transactional cash flows and history, rather than static credit reports, thus enabling more inclusive access to capital. Meanwhile, full audit trails and real-time exposure tracking offer transparency and regulatory compliance for financiers and anchor businesses alike.
Umair Aijaz, CEO of Raqami Islamic Digital Bank, emphasized that the bank’s mission is to “reimagine Islamic banking through innovation.” He noted that partnering with Haball allows the bank to embed financing into the core of supply chains, empowering SMEs to grow with capital that aligns with their values. Omer Bin Ahsan, Founder and CEO of Haball, highlighted that the future of finance lies in embedded contextual offerings, and that Raqami’s partnership enables the democratization of Islamic finance within Pakistan’s SME ecosystem.
Founded in 2017, Haball services nearly 8,000 SMEs, processing over $3 billion in payments and disbursing more than $110 million in financing. The fintech was the first in Pakistan to secure a digital invoicing license from the Federal Board of Revenue, and its collaboration with Raqami marks another milestone in embedding Islamic financial solutions into mainstream business processes raqamidigital.com+8fintechfutures.com+8linkedin.com+8linkedin.com.
Raqami Islamic Digital Bank, which began operations under a restricted digital bank license from the State Bank of Pakistan, is backed by Pakistan Kuwait Investment Company and Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund. It aims to offer inclusive Islamic financial services through a tech-first model, targeting unserved and underserved populations, including SMEs, women, youth, farmers, and freelancers raqamidigital.com+1raqamidigital.com+1.
This embedded supply chain financing aligns with the State Bank’s financial inclusion priorities and accelerates supply chain digitization—one of the core initiatives in Pakistan’s fintech evolution. By reducing friction in accessing capital and supporting SMEs with value-based financing, the partnership between Raqami and Haball reflects how innovative technology can drive financial inclusion and sustainable economic growth.
Analysts suggest that this collaboration could be a game changer for the SME sector. It bridges the gap between technology and Shariah-compliant finance, offering a model that other banks and fintechs may replicate. As the initiative rolls out, its impact on SME expansion, financial transparency, and digital finance adoption will provide valuable insights into Pakistan’s future fintech ecosystem.