Riyadh - Mubasher: Saudi fintech erad has closed $33 million in debt financing, led by India’s Stride Ventures with participation from other investors, during the Money 20/20 Middle East conference in Riyadh.
The round aims to expand erad’s operations in Saudi Arabia and across the GCC, according to a press release.
The new capital will support the fintech’s objectives to bridge the GCC’s $250 billion SME credit gap by offering fast, flexible, and Shariah-compliant financing solutions.
It will also help erad scale operations to meet growing SME demand across retail, F&B, healthcare, and e-commerce.
Salem Abu-Hammour, Co-founder of erad, said: “This investment follows a strong period of 5x growth (YoY), as we double down on our expansion in Saudi Arabia.”
“Access to capital remains one of the primary challenges for SMEs across the region,” he added.
Fariha Ansari Javed, Partner at Stride Ventures, commented: “Debt remains an untapped and powerful asset class in the GCC, offering immense potential to fuel growth for ambitious businesses without the need to dilute equity.”
Launched in 2022, erad has provided over $50 million in financing and received funding requests exceeding $532 million. Its platform offers Shariah-compliant, data-driven financing to SMEs in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, with funding access in as little as 48 hours.
