Saudi Arabia’s Etihad Salam Telecom Company has partnered with fintech firm HALA and e-commerce platform Zid to launch SOHO, a digital services ecosystem for freelancers and independent professionals.
Announced at LEAP 2026, the platform combines connectivity, payments, financial services and online commerce. Salam is also working with Future Work to support freelancer licence validation and integration with Saudi Arabia’s flexible work ecosystem.
The company said SOHO is designed for more than two million people registered on official freelance platforms in the Kingdom. It aims to address the gap between consumer-focused products and solutions built for larger businesses.
HALA will provide dedicated IBAN accounts, debit cards and online and in-person payment acceptance. Zid will enable freelancers to create online stores and manage digital sales, while Salam will provide the connectivity layer.
Future Work will support Freelance Work Certificate verification, helping connect eligibility checks with the platform’s other services.
HALA and Zid are the first partners in the ecosystem, with Salam planning to add more service providers. The company said the model is intended to give freelancers a more unified way to manage their businesses, rather than requiring them to source each service separately.
Source: MenaTechWatch
