Saudi investment platform OORI secures CMA licence for arranging and advising

OORI, a Saudi Arabia-based private markets investment platform, has received a licence from the Saudi Capital Market Authority to conduct arranging and advising activities. The authorisation covers two categories of business, and the company is now preparing to commence operations under it.

Elie Nasr and Naif Al Ajmi founded OORI in 2023. The platform is designed to give qualified investors in Saudi Arabia regulated access to private market opportunities that comply with Shariah principles. Its initial target is technology companies at stages running from pre-Seed to pre-IPO, a bracket that covers early startups as well as firms nearing a public listing.

The company raised a seven-figure USD pre-Seed round in 2024 to fund the build-out. Participants included strategic investors, family offices and angel investors from Saudi Arabia, the wider GCC and Europe. Bunat Ventures and RZM Investments were part of the round. The money has been directed toward developing the technology platform, completing the regulatory licensing work and preparing for the operational launch. The funding arrived with the licensing process still under way; pursuing a CMA licence from day one was a founding decision, not an afterthought.

The problem OORI targets is structural. Private markets have traditionally offered limited deal availability, high minimum investment thresholds and illiquid structures, which keeps most individual investors out. Nasr, co-founder and CEO of OORI, said private markets have historically been accessible mainly to high-net-worth investors because of those structural and cost barriers. OORI was built to address them through a regulated platform, he said, streamlining the investment process and reducing cost while preserving regulatory oversight.

Al Ajmi, who co-founded the company with Nasr, framed the licence in national terms. Saudi Arabia is creating one of the world's most dynamic financial markets, he said. Pursuing a CMA licence from day one reflects confidence in the Kingdom's long-term vision, he added. The result, in his telling, is wider access: a new demographic of investors can reach global private investment opportunities through the platform.

OORI has built partnerships with investment banks, venture capital firms, private equity funds and other investment platforms. It also collaborates with wealth managers, family offices and independent financial advisors. Technology is the starting point but not the limit. The company plans to expand into additional alternative asset classes, and its longer-term roadmap includes tokenisation, smart contracts and digital investment infrastructure. Those partnerships give the platform both sources of deal flow and routes to distribution.

The licence moves OORI from preparation to operation inside a regulatory system that has been working to broaden Saudi Arabia's capital markets. What remains unproven is demand, whether a digital platform built on lower minimums and Shariah-compliant structures can draw meaningful capital from investors who have stayed out of private assets. The regulatory footing is in place to test that question.