Erad Secures $125M Credit Facility to Boost SME Financing in GCC

It’s not every day you see a company in the region close a financing deal that genuinely makes you pause, but that’s exactly what happened with erad’s latest move. The Riyadh-based alternative financing platform has lined up a 125 million dollar credit facility led by Jefferies, with co‑investment from Channel Capital, aiming to push embedded finance deeper into the GCC. Once everything is finalised, it’ll also be Jefferies’ first asset‑backed financing transaction in the Gulf — a small but telling sign of how global players are warming up to the market.

What caught my eye, though, is how this ties into something I’ve heard countless founders talk about at Arageek events: the sheer headache SMEs face when trying to secure working capital. It can be a bit of a faff for even well‑established firms, let alone young businesses still finding their feet. So seeing erad build on six‑fold year‑over‑year growth and more than 700 million dollars’ worth of funding requests does feel, well… significant.

A big chunk of this new facility is earmarked for Saudi SMEs, with funds to be deployed through CMA‑licensed direct financing vehicles run by Erad Partners Capital. Salem Abu‑Hammour, the company’s co‑founder, described the partnership with Jefferies as a “transformative moment” for SME financing in the region, saying the goal is to make access to capital as smooth as a simple payment transaction. I reckon that idea will resonate with a lot of business owners who’ve had to jump through far too many hoops.

And believe it or not, despite SMEs contributing around half of the GCC’s GDP and employing about two‑thirds of its workforce, there’s still a whopping 250 billion‑dollar financing gap holding many of them back. That friction doesn’t just affect individual companies — it slows down broader economic diversification efforts tied to national visions across the Gulf.

Jefferies’ Mark Collier pointed to the firm’s pride in supporting erad’s push, highlighting how the combination of erad’s proprietary tech and Jefferies’ global experience could help meet SMEs’ real‑time capital needs. On the flip side, Channel Capital’s CIO Johan Nisser called the deal their first in Saudi Arabia and a continuation of seven years of Sharia‑compliant asset‑backed financing in the region. He sounded pretty chuffed to bits about backing erad’s ambitions across the Middle East.

What’s interesting is how erad is already taking this momentum into new sectors. The company is rolling out embedded finance products that allow suppliers and business platforms to offer financing directly at the point of sale. It’s already live with partners in healthcare and F&B across Saudi Arabia and the UAE — sectors that, from what I’ve seen, often struggle with cash‑flow gaps that hit at the worst possible times.

This latest facility follows a 33 million‑dollar debt round led by Stride Ventures not too long ago. Since launching in 2022, erad has processed more than SAR 250 million in SME financing with a 48‑hour approval window — wich is spot on for founders who don’t have the patience (or luxury) to wait weeks.

The platform, created by Salem Abu‑Hammour, Faris Yaghmour, Abdulmalik Almeheini and Youssef Said, focuses on offering Shariah‑compliant working capital through a data‑driven approach for businesses in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. From retail and healthcare to F&B and more, they’re tapping into the daily reality of the region’s SMEs — and trying to make the money bit just a little less painful.

🚀 Got exciting news to share?

If you're a startup founder, VC, or PR agency with big updates—funding rounds, product launches 📢, or company milestones 🎉 — AraGeek English wants to hear from you!

✉️ Send Us Your Story 👇

https://en.arageek.com/send-us-your-story-or-a-news-tip