The Ultimate KCTL FAQ: 50 Questions Gulf Founders Ask

The Ultimate KCTL FAQ: 50 Questions Gulf Founders Ask

Fri Jul 04 2025

4 min read

1 Eligibility & Application (#1–15)

#	Question	Short, Plain-English Answer
1	Who can apply?	Any legally registered company or sole establishment in the GCC that has ≥ 6 months of verifiable revenue.
2	Home-based licence okay?	Yes—e-commerce or service licences from Dubai DED, Sharjah Media City, Riyadh Monsha’at, etc., are all eligible.
3	Free-zone companies?	Absolutely; mainland and free-zone entities are treated the same for underwriting.
4	Annual turnover requirement?	Minimum AED 500 k (≈ USD 136 k) run-rate. That’s roughly AED 40 k / SAR 40 k per month.
5	New product but old company?	We look at company-wide revenue, not a single SKU—so you’re fine.
6	Pre-revenue prototype?	Not yet. Check our equity-partner directory for grant and angel options.
7	Is profitability required?	No. Many fast-growing brands run near breakeven—growth rate, gross margin and refund levels matter more.
8	Any banned sectors?	Weapons, gambling, crypto speculation, adult content and tobacco are excluded.
9	Do I need local shareholders?	We don’t force ownership rules—follow your jurisdiction’s licence regulations.
10	Credit score pulled?	Only for personal-guarantee structures ( < 5 % of cases ). Most deals rely solely on business data.
11	Collateral or property pledge?	Never. KCTL is fully unsecured.
12	Can multiple sister brands apply?	Yes, if each brand has its own licence & bank account. Combined limits cap at group-level underwriting.
13	How long does the form take?	Under 8 minutes on mobile; faster on desktop.
14	Do I need audited financials?	Optional for companies under AED 10 m revenue; mandatory above. Uploading an audit report often lowers your fee.
15	Will one declined application hurt future chances?	No. Re-apply in 60 days once revenue or docs improve—declines are soft, not black marks.

2 Offer & Pricing (#16–30)

#	Question	Short, Plain-English Answer
16	How is my offer size decided?	A model looks at revenue stability, refund/chargeback ratio, margin, and seasonality. Strong metrics → bigger advances.
17	What’s the smallest / largest ticket?	AED 100 k to AED 10 m per facility; multiple facilities can stack as you grow.
18	What is the “platform fee”?	A single flat fee (10 – 18 % of the advance) agreed upfront; it never compounds.
19	How is the repayment % chosen?	Higher gross margin = lower share. Typical range: 5 – 10 % of daily (or weekly) revenue.
20	Tenure—fixed or flexible?	Flexible. We show an expected number of months, but you finish earlier if revenue booms (and you never pay extra).
21	Hidden charges?	Zero. No application fee, legal fee, or early-exit penalty.
22	Do you charge VAT on fees?	Yes—UAE VAT (currently 5 %) is added to the fee portion only, not the entire cap.
23	Is this Shariah-compliant?	Our flat-fee, profit-share model is approved by an independent Shariah board.
24	APR equivalent?	We show a notional APR so you can compare apples to apples with bank loans.
25	Can I negotiate the fee?	Upload extra data (e.g., audited statements, marketplace dashboards) or pledge multi-channel visibility—risk falls, fee drops.
26	Currency options?	Disbursement in AED by default; SAR, QAR, KWD conversion available at inter-bank FX + 50 bps.
27	Can I draw in tranches?	Yes—take what you need now, draw the balance within 30 days for the same fee.
28	What if I want more later?	Top-up offers appear once you’ve repaid ~60 % of the cap and revenue is trending up.
29	Board approval clause?	Only for companies with > 10 shareholders; otherwise, director e-sign is enough.
30	Offer validity?	7 calendar days—fees & limits are locked during that window even if your sales fluctuate.

3 Funding & Disbursal (#31–38)

#	Question	Short, Plain-English Answer
31	How fast will the money land?	Average < 24 hours after e-sign; same-day if signed before 14:00 GST.
32	Settlement rails used?	UAE IPP for local AED accounts; RTGS for cross-border GCC accounts; SWIFT for others.
33	Can funds go to a personal account?	No—must be a business or proprietor account that matches the trade licence name.
34	Do you notify suppliers directly?	Only if you choose the “vendor-pay” option (e.g., inventory order). Otherwise funds go to you.
35	Can I split disbursal between two banks?	Not on the first draw. After 60 days, you can route a top-up to a second account once KYC is cleared.
36	What shows in my dashboard post-funding?	Live balance, % repaid, next auto-debit date, top-up eligibility bar.
37	Foreign-exchange cost?	We pass through bank FX + 0.50 %; no hidden spread.
38	Rejected at disbursal stage—why?	90 % of last-minute declines are: mismatched IBAN name, VAT suspension flag, or gateway feed disconnect. Fix these to re-trigger payout.

4 Repayments & Support (#39–50)

#	Question	Short, Plain-English Answer
39	How are repayments collected?	Auto-debit (Direct Debit System in UAE) or scheduled Pull via your payment-gateway balance.
40	Daily vs. weekly—who decides?	If you connect a real-time gateway or POS, it’s daily. If only bank statements, it’s weekly.
41	Dashboard alerts?	Email & WhatsApp 24 hours before each debit; real-time push if revenue falls below buffer.
42	What if daily revenue < repayment share?	After 5 consecutive “sub-floor” days, the system pauses debits for up to 30 days.
43	Can I make extra lump-sum payments?	Yes—hit “Early Sweep”; fee doesn’t change, cap clears faster.
44	Any penalties for early pay-off?	None—you actually save time and unlock top-ups sooner.
45	Currency of repayment?	Same as disbursal, unless your sales are in SAR/QAR; then we net FX automatically.
46	Chargeback spike—what happens?	The risk engine may reduce your top-up limit or request an updated sales feed; facility continues unless breach is severe.
47	Grace extensions?	One-time, 30-day tenure extension available on request if sales drop > 40 % YoY.
48	Default definition?	45 consecutive days of paused / failed debits with no agreed workout plan.
49	Legal recourse in default?	Standard civil debt claim in your licence jurisdiction; personal assets are not at risk because no collateral was pledged.
50	How do I close my facility record?	Once cap is fully repaid, click “Request Closure”—we send NOC, purge your data in 90 days, and you’re welcome back anytime.

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