UAE-based fintech Gainz has closed a seven-figure pre-seed funding round, combining equity and debt.

The round was led by Antler MENAP, Lithium Holdings, and Eleventh Invest Inc., with support from regional high-net-worth investors.

Founded in December 2024 by Shehab Mokhtar and Sherif Abdelaty, Gainz offers an AI-powered, Shariah-compliant crowdfunding platform for working capital financing to SMEs.

The platform allows individuals to invest in pre-vetted SMEs with low entry thresholds.

During its testing phase, Gainz facilitated seven deals in Q2 2025, disbursing nearly US$400,000 in loans.

The company plans to use the funding to scale its platform, expand regionally, and enhance its alternative lending technology.

🔗 Source: Wamda

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ MENA’s massive SME financing gap creates outsized market opportunity

The $200B+ financing gap facing MENA SMEs represents one of the largest untapped financial opportunities in emerging markets today.

Despite SMEs accounting for 96% of registered companies and approximately 50% of employment in the region, they receive just 7% of total bank lending, the lowest rate globally compared to 16% in Asia Pacific 1.

This disconnect is even more pronounced in GCC countries where only 2% of total lending reaches SMEs, creating a clear market inefficiency that platforms like Gainz are positioned to address 2.

The International Monetary Fund suggests that improving SME access to finance could boost annual growth rates by up to 1% and potentially create 15 million jobs by 2025, highlighting the macroeconomic impact of solving this challenge 1.

Traditional banking processes requiring 2-4 months for loan approvals have created a structural bottleneck that alternative lending platforms can bypass through digital-first approaches and AI-powered credit decisioning.

2️⃣ Fintech dominates MENA investment landscape with record growth trajectory

Fintech has emerged as the leading sector for venture capital in MENA, securing over $1 billion across 36 deals in Q1 2025 alone, far outpacing other sectors in both deal count and investment volume 3.