erad, a Riyadh-based company that provides working-capital financing to small and medium-sized businesses, said on 28 September 2026 that it had raised a $22m (SAR 78.75m) Series A round.
MEVP, a venture capital firm focused on the Middle East and North Africa, led the round. New investors SVC, 500 Global, S60 Ventures, ANB Capital, Conjunction Capital and Araya Ventures joined, alongside existing backers Khwarizmi Ventures, Nuwa Capital, Aljazira Capital, Oraseya Capital and Joa Capital.
The company did not disclose a valuation.
“SMEs represent approximately 50% of regional GDP and employ two-thirds of the workforce across the GCC, yet face a financing gap that limits their growth. This round marks a pivotal chapter for erad as our clients seek speed to capital and markets. We have proven that our model works and businesses across sectors are coming to us because we make financing fast, fair, and frictionless.”Salem Abu-Hammour, Co-founder, erad
What erad does
erad was founded in 2022 by Salem Abu-Hammour, Faris Yaghmour, Abdulmalik Almeheini and Youssef Said. It offers Shariah-compliant working-capital financing of up to SAR 10m (about $2.7m) to businesses in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Its facilities come with flexible repayment terms, according to FinTech Global.
The company uses data and its own AI models to assess applicants and says it approves clients in an average of 48 hours. It said its underwriting allows it to handle more applications and larger financing amounts while managing risk. Its clients include businesses in logistics, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, healthcare, medical equipment and food and beverage, which have used the money for fleet expansion, inventory, new locations and larger contracts.
erad said its Saudi business had grown eightfold year on year. It has provided more than SAR 500m ($133m) in cumulative financing and received more than SAR 4bn (about $1bn) in financing requests. It said 85% of clients expand their financing with it within their first year.
What the money is for
erad plans to use the funding to build new financing products for capital-intensive sectors, starting with industrial, logistics and manufacturing businesses. It also plans to expand further across the Gulf Cooperation Council and to hire in technology and commercial roles.
Co-founder Salem Abu-Hammour said the round marked a new chapter for the company as clients sought faster access to capital. He said the next step was to go deeper into new sectors and offer financing products that had not existed before, serving businesses that were scaling across the region.
Jad El Boustani, a partner at MEVP, said the firm backed erad because it was addressing what MEVP estimates is a $250bn financing gap for small businesses in the GCC while building a sustainable lending business. He cited the founders' domain expertise, the company's growth in Saudi Arabia and its 48-hour approval process.
MEVP manages more than $300m and has backed more than 70 companies since 2010, according to the announcement.
The funding so far
Before the Series A, erad secured a $125m scalable financing facility led by Jefferies in November 2025, Wamda reported. The company did not give details of its earlier equity rounds.
erad's announcement framed the round against the size of the small-business sector in the region, which it said accounts for about half of regional GDP and employs two-thirds of the GCC workforce.
Company website: erad.co