Online growth financing platform raises USD 2.4 million to scale across the region

10x Industry

Mita Srinivasan
10x Industry
Published:

Online growth financing platform raises USD 2.4 million to scale across the region

The capital will be used to further enhance and scale erad’s data-driven platform that offers small online businesses non-dilutive funding based on an evaluation of their marketing, sales, and accounting activity.

erad, headquartered in Saudi Arabia and part of the Central Bank of Bahrain’s regulatory sandbox, has raised USD 2.4 million in pre-seed funding from Nuwa Capital and VentureSouq, as well as Khwarizmi Ventures, with additional private investment from prominent regional angel investors. The new funds will be used to further enhance the platform and drive the company’s expansion into different markets across the region.

Since launching a closed beta programme in May 2022, erad has successfully participated in the Fintech Saudi programme, and was one of the first Saudi-based start-ups to be accepted into the Y-Combinator accelerator.  To date, it has onboarded more than 25 startups onto its platform.

Co-founded by Salem Abu-Hammour, Faris Yaghmour and Youssef Said, erad’s data-driven platform evaluates the marketing, sales, and accounting activity of promising online businesses’ existing track record and potential capability to scale determine its eligibility for funding.  Funding offers are made within 48 hours, after which capital is deployed instantly. Online payments are facilitated by erad to allow for operational ease and a seamless user experience.

Salem Abu-Hammour, Co-Founder & 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 data that is relevant to the business, and don’t stop at the company’s assets and financial position.”

The founders set up erad based on their own personal experience having struggled to finance an e-commerce business in the past. Yaghmour added that they 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.”