ZAWYA: Saudi Arabia startups attract 95% of private debt as GCC demand for growth Capital surges 8.2x YoY to $4.1B

ZAWYA: Saudi Arabia startups attract 95% of private debt as GCC demand for growth capital surges 8.2x YoY to $4.1B

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, e, Stride Ventures today announced the launch of the GCC edition of the Global Private Debt Report 2026: A Venture & Growth Credit Lens, highlighting how private debt is becoming a central pillar of the region’s startup financing ecosystem. As businesses scale and capital requirements become more complex, from early stage to pre-IPO, the region is shaping a distinct model where structured credit is being embedded earlier in the growth journey for regional founders.

In 2025, this shift became visible at scale as private debt – comprising venture debt and growth credit – reached $4.1B across the GCC’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. With capital demand growing 8.2x from ~$0.5B in 2024, the region’s most active markets for structured credit deployments were Saudi Arabia which accounted for ~$3.9B, followed by the UAE at ~$211M and Bahrain at ~$22M. The increase reflects the rising use of non-dilutive capital to support expansion, acquisitions, lending-book growth, and platform scale. The shift is also visible in the region’s overall funding mix. Of the ~$7.4B in tracked startup investments across the GCC in 2025, private debt contributed $4.1B, ahead of venture capital at $3.3B, signalling a clear change in how growth is being financed, with structured credit moving from a supporting role to a primary driver of scale.

The rise of private debt across the GCC is closely tied to sovereign-backed capital, regulatory enablement, fintech expansion, and policy-led scale-up acceleration, which have created conditions where large-ticket structured credit transactions are viable earlier in company lifecycles. Regional financial institutions including the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Jada Fund of Funds, and Sanabil Investments in Saudi Arabia, alongside the UAE’s Mubadala and ADQ, have supported the expansion of the region’s startup and growth capital ecosystem.

“The GCC’s private debt market has moved from early exploration to institutional conviction. What stands out is not just the scale of deployment and participation of the region’s largest sovereign wealth funds, but the fact that credit is entering the capital stack earlier in the company lifecycle, especially across fintech and asset-backed models. This reflects a market that is increasingly being underwritten with structure, rigour, and long-term intent and our commitment to have $500 AUM across the region by the end of 2028,” said Fariha Ansari Javed, Partner, GCC & Global Capital Formation, Stride Ventures.

Unlike more mature ecosystems where financing often follows a staged progression, the GCC is witnessing parallel deployment of equity and credit, with structured debt integrated earlier in the scaling journey often at Series A and all the way to pre-IPO. This is particularly visible in fintech and financial infrastructure platforms, where business models require continuous access to capital.

The Stride Ventures report also highlights the largest regional transactions including Saudi Arabia’s Tamara ($2.4B), Lendo ($740M), Deem ($400M), Erad ($33M) and the UAE’s CredibleX ($100M), Kitopi ($50M), and Octa ($20M). Sectorally, fintech dominated the market, accounting for ~95.5% of total private debt deployment, or ~$3.9B. Beyond fintech, credit activity was seen in sectors such as agritech, proptech, SaaS, and logistics.

This concentration reflects a deeper structural dynamic within the GCC ecosystem. Fintech platforms are accessing institutional credit earlier in their growth cycle, often bypassing the traditional private equity-led leverage stage seen in more mature markets. As a result, structured credit, particularly asset-backed lending, is emerging as the dominant form of private debt in the region. These deals reflect how structured credit is increasingly being used to finance lending books, receivables, and asset-backed growth rather than only traditional corporate leverage.

The Global Private Debt Report 2026: A Venture & Growth Credit Lens covers India, the UK & Europe, and the GCC, offering a comparative view of how private debt is evolving across regions and stages of growth.

Stride Ventures is a leading global venture debt and growth credit platform with 8 offices across India, the GCC, and Southeast Asia, while operating as an advisor in the UK. A sector-agnostic platform, Stride manages 7 funds denominated in INR, USD, and GBP, and has enabled over $1.6B in credit globally. The firm has partnered with almost 200 high-growth companies across sectors. In the GCC, Stride has been steadily deepening its presence through its ADGM Fund, backing from PIF’s Jada Fund of Funds, and a strategic partnership with SAB Invest.

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