Hajra Naz
Riyadh-based fintech erad has closed a $22 million Series A funding round led by MEVP, and says it will use the capital to expand Shariah-compliant working-capital financing for small and mid-sized businesses across Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The round was first reported this week by Forbes Middle East and carried on ZAWYA’s press-release wire.
New backers in the round include 500 Global, Saudi Venture Capital Company, S60 Ventures, ANB Capital, Conjunction Capital and Araya Ventures, joined by returning investors Khwarizmi Ventures, Nuwa Capital, Aljazira Capital, Oraseya Capital and Joa Capital, according to the funding announcement.
erad Offers Financing in Days, Not Weeks
Founded in 2022 by Salem Abu-Hammour, Faris Yaghmour, Abdulmalik Almeheini and Youssef Said, erad provides SMEs with Shariah-compliant working-capital financing of up to SAR 10 million, roughly $2.7 million. The platform uses data and AI-driven risk models to approve applications in an average of 48 hours, a fraction of the weeks a traditional bank loan process can take in the region.
The Numbers Behind the Raise
erad says its Saudi operations grew eightfold over the past year and that it has deployed more than SAR 500 million, about $133 million, in cumulative financing to SMEs since launch. The company plans to put the new capital toward new financing products, further expansion across the GCC, and hiring across its technology and commercial teams, with a stated focus on capital-intensive sectors including industrial, logistics and manufacturing.
What This Means for Small Businesses Beyond Saudi Arabia
Working-capital access is one of the most common bottlenecks for small businesses and growing freelance operations across the Gulf, and it looks much the same for exporters and digital businesses in Pakistan. Traditional banks in the region have historically underserved smaller, asset-light companies, which is the gap erad and similar platforms are underwriting against using transaction data rather than collateral alone.
For readers building agencies or chasing high-paying freelance projects and tenders across the GCC, the relevant detail is not the funding round itself but the underwriting model behind it. Faster, data-driven SME lending tends to arrive first in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, then expand outward as platforms look for their next growth market.
Where This Could Go Next
erad’s bet is narrow by design: Saudi Arabia and the UAE first, with a tilt toward industrial and logistics SMEs. Whether that model travels to markets like Pakistan, where working-capital access is just as scarce for small exporters and digital-first businesses, is the open question the company’s next funding round or market announcement will start to answer.
