erad, a Saudi-based fintech, gains support from regional investors to provide growth capital for regional online businesses.
erad, a Saudi-based fintech firm that provides non-dilutive capital for online businesses in the Middle East, has secured USD 2.4 million in funding from a range of regional investors, including Nuwa Capital, VentureSouq and Khwarizmi Ventures. The funds will be used to further improve erad’s offerings and to aid with regional expansion.
erad: A data-driven provider of capital
erad was founded this year by Salem Abu-Hammour, Faris Yaghmour and Youssef Said and is a data-driven platform that provides non-dilutive growth capital for regional online businesses. Online payments are facilitated by erad to allow for operational ease and a seamless user experience. The system takes marketing, sales and accounting activity and growth potential into consideration, alongside the applicant’s track record. Funding offers are then made within 48 hours. At the time of writing, erad has successfully onboarded over 25 startups onto the platform.
Creating alternative solutions
Abu-Hammour, Co-Founder and CEO of erad, said, “erad was created to provide online businesses with an alternative solution to bank loans or equity investment, and in turn support the growth of the Middle East’s digital economy. We saw that there was an emerging online segment in the region, particularly in the e-commerce space, that needed a tailored financial solution to cover user acquisition and inventory costs but didn’t have a financing source that fit them. What sets us apart is that we deep-dive into relevant data to the business, and don’t stop at the company’s assets and financial position.”
Following the launch of a successful closed beta trial in May of this year, erad took part in the Fintech Saudi program and was one of the first Saudi-based startups to participate in the Y Combinator accelerator.
Yaghmour, Co-Founder and COO of erad, said, “When we set out to build erad, we were basing it off our own personal experience having struggled to finance an e-commerce business in the past. We understood the pain points first-hand and knew what was needed in the solution. The market’s response to erad has been incredible – it has validated what we’re developing, and working closely with the startups who are already using our platform has allowed us to refine our proposition.”
Erad’s headquarters are located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and the company is participating in the Central Bank of Bahrain’s regulatory sandbox.
Fintech continues to dominate investments
Regionally, fintech accounts for the vast majority of investments in startups, and McKinsey has predicted that African fintech investments will surge in the near future.