Debt assortment in rising markets usually feels outdated and may be pricey — damaging borrower belief. As shopper lending surges and regulators push for fairer practices, legacy assortment outfits are struggling to keep up tempo.
ClearGrid goals to assist modernize debt assortment — and restoration — with AI. The Dubai-based startup, which is rising from stealth with $10 million in funding ($3.5 million pre-seed and $6.5 million seed), helps banks, fintechs, and lenders get well extra debt with out resorting to buyer harassment.
For a startup based simply in Might 2023, the backing is critical. Co-founder and CEO Mohammad Al Zaben referred to as it a vital benefit for a “very formidable firm with a giant mission in a really large market.”
Constructing AI-driven debt assortment
Al Zaben stumbled into the debt assortment house after promoting his earlier startup, Munch:On, to Careem in 2022. Whereas taking time without work following the exit, Al Zaben says he mirrored on one in every of Munch:On’s largest challenges — amassing funds from company prospects.
That led Al Zaben down a rabbit gap into receivables administration and unpaid invoices. Upon additional reflection, Al Zaben realized shopper collections posed an excellent larger downside.
“Once we spoke with collectors, it was clear the trade was caught up to now — some companies nonetheless used pen and paper, and probably the most superior relied on fundamental CRMs,” Al Zaben instructed iinfoai. “Debt assortment was a people-driven enterprise the place collectors relied on scare techniques and harassment. Debtors had a horrible expertise, and Saudi and UAE regulators have been starting to prioritize shopper safety.”
Concurrently, shopper lending was booming. Purchase now, pay later (BNPL) unicorns like Tabby and Tamara have been dealing with billions in gross sales, and unsecured lending totals have been skyrocketing within the Center East.
Al Zaben and his co-founders, Khalid Bin Bader Al Saud and Mohammad Al-Khalili, sensed a chance. Regardless of having no expertise within the collections market, they launched ClearGrid, creating software program and AI to streamline restoration and collaborate with the present distributors within the house.
“At a time when lending is booming, laws are tightening, and AI is reshaping industries, we see this as a chance to assist lenders get well debt whereas constructing belief with debtors,” the CEO mentioned.
“That is simply step one in constructing the infrastructure for the way forward for debt decision,” Al Saud added.
Automated assortment elements
ClearGrid sits between lenders and debtors, utilizing AI to automate the collections course of. Lenders combine by way of ClearGrid’s platform or API, sending borrower accounts for processing.
The corporate says its AI fashions rating issues like compensation chance, assist predict buyer habits, and personalize outreach throughout communication channels.
In line with Al Zaben, 95% of ClearGrid’s operations are totally automated, together with AI voice brokers that deal with tons of of 1000’s of calls each day. For debtors preferring human interplay, the platform facilitates direct conversations and feeds the insights into the startup’s many fashions.
ClearGrid’s platform categorizes debtors based mostly on their potential and willingness to pay, then buildings repayments into smaller, manageable chunks, nudging them towards compensation with out coercion. The corporate claims its platform can minimize assortment prices by 50%.
“We’re constructing purpose-built instruments and discovering methods to make lenders higher at what they do whereas additionally creating a chance for shoppers to get out of debt,” mentioned Al Zaben.
Since launching in 2024, ClearGrid says it has managed tons of of hundreds of thousands in debt portfolios and signed 10 of the foremost fintechs and banks within the UAE. An unnamed main financial institution elevated restoration charges by 30% and minimize assortment prices in half, ClearGrid claims, whereas a number one BNPL supplier doubled recoveries by automating early-stage debt decision.
Throughout the board, Al Zaben says ClearGrid resolves money owed twice as quick as conventional assortment companies, attaining between 38% and 50% enchancment in decision charges, whereas debtors work together with the platform 60% greater than they do with these companies.
ClearGrid makes cash by charging a proportion price on recovered quantities. The startup’s revenues are rising 30% month-on-month within the UAE, the place ClearGrid is already worthwhile, and the corporate is seeking to enter Saudi Arabia this yr, per Al Zaben.
Al Zaben mentioned with the funding raised, ClearGrid goals to “10x” income and accounts managed in 2024 (it engages with over 130,000 borrower accounts month-to-month). The corporate additionally plans to double its engineering workforce within the subsequent fiscal quarter to construct what Al Zaben calls the “definitive credit score orchestration infrastructure for the area.”
ClearGrid’s buyers embrace Center East and North Africa-focused VCs Beco Capital, Nuwa Capital, and Raed Ventures, and distinguished angel buyers similar to Anu Hariharan (ex-YC, Avra founder), Amjad Masad (Replit CEO), Jason Gardner (founder and ex-CEO of Marqeta), and Justin Kan (Twitch co-founder).
