Startups To Watch At Money20/20 Middle East 2025: Ejari
Led by co-founder and CEO Yazeed Alshamsi, Ejari is redefining housing finance in Saudi Arabia’s US$60 billion market with a rent now, pay later model.
As Saudi Arabia grows its economy, the concentration of the urban population is also on the rise, which has marked a fast-changing housing market as well. In this space, Riyadh-based Ejari is rewriting the rules of rent—transforming an often-painful yearly expense into a seamless monthly process that benefits both the tenants and landlords.
“In Saudi Arabia’s US$60+ billion rental market, tenants are still asked to do something that feels outdated: pay a full year’s rent upfront,” Ejari co-founder and CEO Yazeed Alshamsi says. “For many households, this creates a painful financial bottleneck: families are forced to tie up huge sums of cash, borrow informally, or compromise on location and quality of housing. It’s a legacy practice that no longer fits a modern, dynamic economy.”
Alshamsi thus created Ejari to break this legacy pattern. “With our rent now, pay later (RNPL) solution, we turn rent from a crushing large yearly payment into a manageable monthly one,” he explains. “In one click, rent stops being a bottleneck, and becomes a bridge to better homes, better neighborhoods, and better financial wellbeing. Landlords still get the full year’s rent upfront, while tenants finally gain the flexibility to live without compromise.”
According to Alshamsi, Ejari is tackling a universal problem with a solution that will have wide ramifications. “We’re not just another fintech precisely because our mission goes beyond fintech,” he explains. “We’re redefining how people access and experience housing, starting with a single high impact use case in the form of rent payments. By tackling rent, we alleviate one of the biggest financial pressures on Saudi households.”
But Alshamsi highlights that Ejari’s vision extends well beyond its RNPL offering—rent payments are just the entry point, according to the CEO. “Around it lies a much wider ecosystem—furnishing, maintenance, insurance, relocation, even SME, commercial, and industrial leasing—all of which can be integrated into a single seamless platform,” he points out.
From here, the ambition only grows for Ejari. “What begins as a solution for rent evolves into the foundation for a new kind of real estate experience—one that connects financial, operational, and lifestyle services into a single interface,” Alshamsi explains. “The goal isn’t simply to make rent easier, but to build the rails for how people and businesses access, manage, and interact with their properties—unlocking capital, enabling new business formation, and fueling broader economic growth across the Kingdom.”
Looking ahead, Alshamsi says the company’s impact won’t simply be measured in terms of financial transactions. Rather, it’s about allowing for affordability, increasing household mobility and setting a blueprint for RNPL models in emerging markets globally. He adds, “If fintech’s core promise is financial inclusion, Ejari is proving that housing—the single largest household expense—has to be part of that conversation.”
Founder To Founder: Ejari Co-Founder And CEO Yazeed Alshamsi On Why Money20/20 Middle East Matters For Fintech Startups
“Money20/20 Middle East is where global capital, regional regulators, and local innovators converge. For Ejari, it’s an opportunity to put Saudi fintech’s scale and ambition on a global stage, while connecting with institutional investors, ecosystem partners, and policymakers who are shaping the future of finance in the region.
Our goal at the event is twofold: to showcase the traction we’ve achieved in building a new financial category around rent, and to open doors for the next phase of partnerships and capital. For us, this isn’t just about fintech exposure—it’s about embedding housing finance into the wider financial inclusion agenda for Saudi Arabia.
For fintech founders across the MENA, Money20/20 Middle East is the flagship platform. It’s not just another conference— it’s where ideas, capital, and collaboration meet. The density of decision-makers is unmatched, making it the single best stage to validate, test, and accelerate new business models in the region. For Saudi Arabia, it’s a reflection of how Vision 2030 is fueling one of the fastest growing fintech ecosystems in the world.”
Pictured in the lead image is Yazeed Alshamsi, co-founder and CEO of Ejari.
Ejari is one of the companies featured in Inc. Arabia's selection of startups to look out for at Money20/20 Middle East 2025. For the full list, click here.
This article first appeared in a special edition of Inc. Arabia created for Money20/20 Middle East in September 2025. To read the full issue online, click here.
