Comfi wins du x Ignyte SME Resilience & Innovation Challenge

Dubai, UAE, 30 October, 2026: Comfi, a UAE based B2B fintech offering invoice discounting and Buy Now Pay Later solutions for SMEs, has won the Ignyte x du SME Resilience and Innovation Challenge, hosted by Ignyte and telecom operator du at the Dubai AI Festival. Comfi was selected as one of 5 finalists from more than 2,000 applications and was named the overall winner.

The challenge invited AI native startups to pitch solutions for strengthening SME resilience across the UAE. Comfi's pitch, led by Co-founder and CEO Sanjar Samiev, framed the opportunity as a distribution partnership rather than a funding ask: direct access to du's ecosystem of over 100,000 SMEs to unlock working capital, paired with Comfi's in-house AI underwriting engine. The judging panel singled out the underwriting technology, and how easily it could embed into du's platform, as the standout differentiator.

Many UAE SMEs sell on 30, 60 or 90 day terms, which ties up cash they need to buy stock, pay suppliers and take on new orders. Comfi lets businesses get paid upfront on their receivable invoices within hours, while their customers still keep the payment terms.

More than 1,000 UAE SMEs, mainly in wholesale trading, logistics, professional services and food and beverage, have unlocked cash on over 20,000 invoices with Comfi. The company is backed by investors including Shorooq, Sanabil 500, Partners for Growth, Iliad Partners, Yango Ventures and Raw Ventures.

"Winning this challenge against 2,000+ applicants is validation that AI-led underwriting can genuinely change how quickly SMEs access capital. What stood out to us in this process was the depth of the conversation around our underwriting engine, not just the pitch. We see this as a meaningful step toward bringing liquidity to du's SME base," said Sanjar Samiev, Co-founder & CEO of Comfi.

About Comfi

Comfi is a Dubai-based B2B fintech founded by Sanjar Samiev, Alisher Akbarov, Amal Abdullaev and Denis Gavrilin. Comfi helps UAE businesses unlock working capital tied up in receivable invoices, as an alternative to business loans. UAE-registered B2B companies trading for 12+ months with AED 300K+ monthly revenue can apply at comfi.ai.

Media contact: Nikhil Wadhwa, Brand Manager, nikhil@comfi.ai