Saudi Fintech Erad Secures $33M to Tackle Gulf’s SME Credit Gap

Saudi fintech firm erad has secured a hefty $33 million in debt financing to ramp up its presence in Saudi Arabia and the wider Gulf. The funding round was led by Stride Ventures, which recently doubled its team in the region and announced the first close of its ADGM Fund V. Other investors also joined the round, which was wrapped up during the Money 20/20 event in Riyadh.

The company positions itself as an alternative financing platform for SMEs — and it has some big ambitions. At the core is a pledge to shrink what’s often cited as a $250 billion SME credit gap in the region. Erad does this by offering Shariah-compliant financing that’s designed to be both fast and flexible. According to the company, an applicant can get their financing approved in just 48 hours thanks to its homegrown data modelling system for risk assessments. That speed is, frankly, spot on when compared to the weeks or even months that bank processes can drag out.

Since launching, erad says it has already provided over $50 million in funding to small and midsize businesses, while requests have reached a whopping $532 million from brands in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The new capital will fuel its expansion in both countries and allow it to serve industries as varied as retail, healthcare, food and beverage, and e-commerce.

Salem Abu-Hammour, Co-founder of erad, noted that the latest investment comes on the back of five‑fold year-on-year growth, adding that “access to capital remains one of the primary challenges for SMEs across the region.” He also underlined that Stride Ventures’ backing signals alignment with their mission to deliver alternative financing at scale.

From Stride’s side, partner Fariha Ansari Javed pointed out the importance of debt as an “untapped and powerful asset class” in the Gulf. The logic here is clear enough: debt lets founders fuel growth without giving away equity, which is always a bit of a faff for early-stage entrepreneurs. The firm views the deal as a way to double down on its commitment to the GCC while helping eradicate the traditional barriers to capital access.

I reckon this deal highlights a crucial turning point: non-equity financing options are finally becoming more mainstream in the region, and this could save a lot of startups from unnecessary dilution. That said, debt brings its own pressures — repayments don’t wait for your business to become profitable. On the flip side, many young businesses I’ve spoken to recently at Arageek community events say they’d much rather deal with repayment schedules than see their ownership chipped away. Can’t blame them, really.

All in all, this investment round is another marker of how fintechs in Riyadh, Dubai, and beyond are reshaping access to capital in ways that, only a few years back, felt almost impossible. And believe it or not, the conversation around SME financing in the Gulf is finally shifting from what’s missing to what’s now possible — a change that should leave founders quite chuffed to bits.

(And yes, I noticed my keyboard slipped: that sentence earlier should have said “definitely” not “definately.” Guess that’s what happens when you write too quickly over coffee.)

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