Erad, a Riyadh-headquartered alternative financing platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has raised $33 million in debt financing to accelerate its expansion across Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC region.
The funding round, which closed at Money 20/20 Riyadh, was led by Stride Ventures, alongside other investors. Stride Ventures, which recently doubled its team in the Middle East and achieved the first close of its landmark ADGM Fund V, chose erad as its first regional fintech platform investment.
Closing the $250 Billion SME Credit Gap
The fresh capital strengthens erad’s mission to bridge the region’s $250 billion SME credit gap by providing fast, flexible, and Shariah-compliant financing solutions. The platform aims to make growth financing more accessible to SMEs across key industries such as:
- Retail
- Food & Beverage (F&B)
- Healthcare
- E-commerce
Erad has already achieved 5x year-over-year growth and plans to use the funds to grow its presence in Saudi Arabia and the UAE while scaling its operations to meet rising SME demand.
Fast Financing Powered by AI
Since launch, erad has funded over $50 million to regional SMEs. Its platform leverages proprietary AI-driven data modeling for risk assessment, enabling financing approval within just 48 hours, one of the fastest turnaround times in the region.
“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.”
– Salem Abu-Hammour, Co-founder, erad
Stride Ventures’ Commitment to GCC
For Stride Ventures, this investment represents a strategic step to unlock debt financing opportunities across the GCC.
“Debt remains an untapped and powerful asset class in the GCC. Through our partnership with erad, we are leveraging our expertise to provide startups and SMEs with innovative, alternative financing solutions that align with their growth ambitions.”
– Fariha Ansari Javed, Partner, Stride Ventures
Growing SME Financing Demand
Since its inception, erad has received funding requests exceeding $532 million from leading brands in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, highlighting the region’s surging demand for non-dilutive capital solutions.
With this $33M financing round, erad is positioned to become a key player in SME financing across the GCC, empowering businesses with faster, AI-powered access to growth capital.
