erad (www.erad.co), the Riyadh-headquartered alternative financing platform for SMEs, has raised $33 million in debt financing to expand its operations in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC. The round was led by Stride Ventures, which has recently doubled its team size in the region and also achieved the first close of its landmark ADGM Fund V, alongside participation from other investors.
This new round strengthens erad’s mission to close the region’s $250 billion SME credit gap by providing fast and flexible Shariah-compliant financing solutions and make growth financing accessible for GCC businesses.
The funding round, which was closed at Money 20/20 in Riyadh, will be used to grow erad’s presence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, scale its operations, and meet growing demand from small and medium-sized enterprises across sectors such as 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. We share a common vision with Stride Ventures, and as their first regional fintech platform, we look forward to delivering flexible financing solutions at greater scale.”
Since launch, erad has provided over $50 million in funding to regional SMEs. The company’s Shariah-compliant platform utilises proprietary data modeling for risk assessment, enabling it to review applicants and provide financing approval in just 48 hours, one of the fastest in the region.
Fariha Ansari Javed, Partner at Stride Ventures added: “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. Through our partnership with erad, we are leveraging our expertise to provide startups and SMEs across the region with innovative, alternative financing solutions that align perfectly with their growth ambitions. This strategic investment in Saudi Arabia not only underscores our strong commitment to the GCC but also advances erad’s transformative vision of revolutionizing capital access for the next generation of trailblazing enterprises.
Since its founding, erad has received requests of more than $532 million in funding from well-known regional brands from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
