Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Boston - AlRaedah Finance, a leading financial services company based in Saudi Arabia, announced today that it is leveraging automated machine learning from DataRobot, the pioneer in automated machine learning, to transform its business. As DataRobot’s first customer in Saudi Arabia and the region’s first financial services company to adopt this technology, AlRaedah uses DataRobot to develop and deploy highly accurate predictive models that lead to smarter and faster business decisions.

AlRaedah Finance is a pioneer of bespoke solutions for small- and medium-sized enterprises seeking to achieve long-term, sustainable growth. For the financial services firm, implementing machine learning and AI was nearly impossible: finding data science talent was challenging, particularly in the Middle East, and building models using traditional methods was both time-consuming and costly.

Using automated machine learning from DataRobot, companies can quickly deploy machine learning models to uncover hidden opportunities and predict future outcomes from vast amounts of data. Previously built and deployed by expensive and rare data scientists, these sophisticated models have the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed, making them fundamental to big data strategies. Typical use cases include underwriting, fraud, claims, risk-based pricing, marketing, and customer analytics.

Faced with looming IFRS-9 standards and motivated by the vision to continuously innovate its business to better serve customers, AlRaedah selected DataRobot to uncover hidden opportunities and predict future outcomes from vast amounts of data. Specifically, AlRaedah utilizes DataRobot for risk-based pricing, predicting the probability of default on a monthly basis, and overall risk modeling.

“With DataRobot, we no longer need to find and train highly sought after data scientists to build our models. Now, we simply leverage our subject matter experts to use DataRobot to make smarter decisions that drive our business forward,” said Paul Melotto, CEO of AlRaedah. “We’ll soon leverage DataRobot across all business functions, including HR, collections, and marketing. We’re proud to be the only financial services institution in Saudi Arabia leveraging automated machine learning.”

AlRaedah Finance selected DataRobot for its sophisticated modeling, its ease of use, and for the expected return on investment. The team was also impressed with DataRobot’s hands-on support from its in-house data scientists, which doesn’t stop after implementation. The technology also allows AlRaedah to tap into Saudi Arabia’s highly educated workforce in new and interesting ways, aligning perfectly with the country’s vision for the future, Saudi Vision 2030, which was developed with a goal of transforming the country’s economy and increasing global competitiveness.

“We’re thrilled to be working with AlRaedah, a forward-thinking organization that’s putting AI on the map in the Middle East and our first customer in Saudi Arabia,” said Justin Dickerson, General Manager of Fintech at DataRobot. “Our longstanding experience working with a broad user base in the fintech sector makes us an ideal partner for AlRaedah, and we look forward to supporting them as they scale their business in the region.”

© Press Release 2018