Prime Highlights

• Saudi Arabia ranked first in the GCC private debt market, accounting for 3.9 billion dollars of the region’s total 4.1 billion dollars in structured credit in 2025
• Private debt overtook venture capital as the top startup funding source in the GCC, growing more than eightfold from 500 million dollars in 2024

Key Facts

• Fintech accounted for 95.5 percent of all private debt deployed in the GCC, with Saudi firm Tamara leading at 2.4 billion dollars in financing
• The UAE ranked second in GCC private debt deployment at 211 million dollars, followed by Bahrain at 22 million dollars

Background

Saudi Arabia has emerged as the dominant force in the GCC’s private debt market, accounting for 3.9 billion dollars of the region’s total 4.1 billion dollars in structured credit deployed to startups in 2025, according to a report by Stride Ventures.

The figures mark a sharp shift in how Gulf startups are raising money. Private debt, which includes venture debt and growth credit, grew more than eightfold from around 500 million dollars in 2024. It now accounts for more than half of the GCC startup ecosystem’s 7.4 billion dollars in tracked funding last year, overtaking venture capital at 3.3 billion dollars.

The UAE ranked second with 211 million dollars, followed by Bahrain at 22 million dollars.

Fintech drove the bulk of activity, making up roughly 95.5 percent of all private debt deployed across the region. Saudi fintech firm Tamara led individual transactions with 2.4 billion dollars in financing, followed by Lendo at 740 million dollars. Other notable deals included Deem at 400 million dollars and CredibleX in the UAE at 100 million dollars.

Fariha Ansari Javed, partner for GCC and global capital formation at Stride Ventures, said credit is now entering company capital structures earlier than before, particularly in fintech and asset-backed businesses.

Sovereign funds including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Jada Fund of Funds and Sanabil Investments, alongside Mubadala and ADQ from the UAE, have helped drive this expansion.