This Dubai-based bootstrapped firm is building a one-stop platform for lending

Rachit Yadav’s first encounter with lending was when his father first applied for a loan. He watched as his father took several calls, made multiple visits to the bank, and filed through several bits of paperwork. 

"My father had to work his life around this loan,” Yadav recalls. “He had to change his work trip as he was needed to be physically present."

Since then, he remained committed to solving this issue. It would eventually lead to Orpheuss—a Dubai-based one-stop debt solution that allows people to borrow money from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and banks in one application. 

“Orpheuss makes it simple for borrowers to get the best deal in the market from the comfort of home, based on their need and risk. We bring many lenders under one platform to make lending simple and faster,” explains Yadav.

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How does Orpheuss work?

Working as an app, once logged in, the user is required to upload their know-your-customer (KYC) details, after which they can enter their required loan amount. Based on the risk and capacity of the borrower, they are presented with a list of lenders with the best offers available.  

The lender on the other hand has the backend information on the deals and the borrowers, who then notifies Orpheuss. Lenders determine if an offer is acceptable based on requirements and risk of the borrow. 

Orpheuss puts out the term of the loan and the payment plan for the user. The document agreements are signed on the app as well, and after the legalities the money is transferred into the bank account. The risk profiling and data collection is done on app, making it easier for the lender to choose. 

“There is also an option of an in-app video call that the loan officer can have with the borrower for better and faster communication,” says Yadav. 

Yadav built the core team from his university in Dubai. Shemeem is the tech lead, Shivam is on UI/UX, and Sarvika is the marketing lead. Orpheuss is incubated at in5 and is a part of TiE Dubai and is also a part of the evolving fintech market in the Gulf. 

Fintech is growing 

The last few years have seen a significant push for fintech in the Middle East. The sector sector raised funding of $2.1 billion across 175 deals in 2021 to 2022, as per CB Insights.

Regulators aren’t far away from tapping into the industry either. “There are multiple banks in the UAE alone worth over $10 billion, and that itself makes the total addressable market massive,” says Zachary “Zach” Finklestein, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Class 5 Global. 

Till May last year, 41 deals in the fintech sector amounted to $503 million. “Different companies in the Middle East focus on different problems,” says Abdulaziz Al-Turki, Managing Partner, Khwarizmi Ventures—a Saudi Arabia-based early-stage investment firm.

“There are more open-minded people willing to adopt technology, and are looking for tech to improve different aspects of their lives,” he added.

Orpheuss follows a marketplace model where it charges the customer a certain margin percentage. The company is currently bootstrapped and profitable, says Yadav. 

“We made 55,000 AED in the first two months and have a loan book of AED 6.3 million. We have also tied up with Microsoft as a technology partner,” adds Yadav. 

The team is now looking to expand into the larger GCC region looking to enter first into Saudi Arabia. 

Image credit: Chetan Singh