Saudi Arabia leads GCC private debt surge as startup credit financing hits $4.1bn
RIYADH: Private debt has overtaken venture capital as the dominant source of startup funding in the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia accounting for the vast majority of the GCC’s $4.1 billion in structured credit deployment in 2025, according to an industry report.
Data released by Stride Ventures showed that private debt, including venture debt and growth credit, expanded more than eightfold from around $500 million in 2024, underscoring a rapid shift in how high-growth companies across the region are financing expansion.
Saudi Arabia led the market with approximately $3.9 billion in private debt transactions, far ahead of the UAE at $211 million and Bahrain at $22 million, according to the report.
It found that structured credit accounted for more than half of the GCC startup ecosystem's $7.4 billion in tracked funding during 2025, surpassing venture capital investments of $3.3 billion.
