FAS Labs, a franchise retailer in Saudi Arabia owned by Alhokair and Arabian Centres Company (ACC), owner, developer and operator of lifestyle shopping centers in Saudi Arabia, have entered into a strategic partnership with valU.

The partnership agreement will accelerate the geographical expansion of valU to provide digital consumer finance solutions in Saudi Arabia through FAS Finance.

The partnership agreement will result in FAS Finance being 65% owned by FAS Labs and 35% by valU. FAS Labs was recently established to lead the joint digital initiatives of Alhokair and ACC, offering Saudi customers a range of accessible and customizable digital consumer finance solutions, to build and scale a fully integrated shopping platform that engages consumers throughout the entire purchase journey, from pre-purchase to post-purchase.

The partnership supports valU’s strategy to expand its customer base by entering new markets. Saudi Arabia will be the first market that valU enters outside of Egypt.

“We are delighted to enter this strategic partnership. valU has retained its position as the market leader in BNPL solutions in the MENA region and Alhokair choosing us further cements this. valU’s launch in KSA comes as a natural progression of our strong partnership with Alhokair and is our first move outside of Egypt with other similar moves to follow soon. We are thrilled to be issuing cash loans for the first time which will be complementing our BNPL solution offering. With valU being a platform through which consumers can seamlessly access financing solutions across various sectors, we serve as a conduit enhancing affordability,” said Walid Hassouna, CEO of the Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFI) platform at EFG Hermes Holding and CEO of valU.

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