Saudi fintech erad secures $33m to tackle GCC’s credit gap
Saudi Arabian fintech erad has raised $33 million in debt financing to accelerate its expansion in the Kingdom and across the Gulf, aiming to narrow the region’s estimated $250 billion credit gap for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The funding round, announced during the Money 20/20 Middle East conference in Riyadh, was led by India’s Stride Ventures with participation from other regional and international investors. The fresh capital will be used to scale erad’s Shariah-compliant, data-driven lending platform and meet rising SME demand in sectors such as retail, food and beverage, healthcare, and e-commerce.
“Access to capital remains one of the primary challenges for SMEs across the region,” said Salem Abu-Hammour, co-founder of erad. “This investment follows a strong period of 5x growth year-on-year as we double down on our expansion in Saudi Arabia.”
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Muhammad Ali Bandial