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Riyadh-headquartered SME financing platform erad has raised a $22 million Series A led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP), as it expands its working capital products across the GCC and moves further into capital-intensive sectors.
New investors 500 Global, Saudi Venture Capital Company (SVC), S60 Ventures, ANB Capital, Conjunction Capital and Araya Ventures participated, alongside existing backers Khwarizmi Ventures, Nuwa Capital, Aljazira Capital, Oraseya Capital and Joa Capital.
The company says it has provided more than SAR 500 million ($133 million) in cumulative financing to SMEs and received over SAR 4 billion ($1.07 billion) in financing requests. It also reported eightfold year-on-year growth in Saudi Arabia.
Founded in 2022 by Salem Abu-Hammour, Faris Yaghmour, Abdulmalik Almeheini and Youssef Said, erad provides Shariah-compliant working capital to businesses in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Its financing supports spending such as inventory purchases, fleet expansion, new locations and larger contracts, helping companies meet upfront costs while keeping cash available for day-to-day operations.
The platform offers financing of up to SAR 10 million ($2.7 million), with approvals taking 48 hours on average, according to the company. It uses business data to assess creditworthiness and monitor cash flows, and says its proprietary AI models help it handle larger financing amounts and higher application volumes. Some 85% of clients expand their financing with erad within their first year, it added.
The latest figures build on the growth FWDstart reported when erad secured a $33 million debt facility led by Stride Ventures in September 2025. At the time, the company had processed more than $50 million in financing and received over $532 million in requests, with customers spanning retail, F&B, healthcare and e-commerce.
erad subsequently announced a $125 million financing facility from Jefferies and Channel in November 2025, intended to expand its capacity to finance businesses across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the wider region.
Its customer base is now broadening into logistics, medical equipment and wholesale distribution. Following the raise, erad plans to develop financing products tailored to industrial, logistics and manufacturing businesses, while hiring across technology and commercial roles to support regional expansion.
“What excites me most is where we go from here which is deeper into new sectors, into new products that did not exist before, and powering the businesses that are scaling across the region,” said Abu-Hammour.
MEVP partner Jad El Boustani pointed to the combination of the company’s growth and underwriting approach as central to the investment, citing what the firm estimates is a $250 billion SME financing gap across the GCC.
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