The $80 Billion SME Lending Opportunity Banks Keep Missing

Aug 20

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SMEs are central to the UAE economy, yet access to credit remains one of their biggest challenges.

In this episode of Couchonomics with Arjun, Hassan Reda, Co-Founder & CPO of CredibleX, and Anand Nagaraj, Co-Founder & CEO of CredibleX, unpack why SME lending has remained difficult for banks and fintechs, and what needs to change to close the financing gap.

They explain how embedded lending can solve the distribution problem, why working-capital finance requires a different approach to traditional business loans, and how better underwriting, alternative capital and AI could reshape SME financing in the UAE.

🎙️ In this episode:

Why banks still struggle to serve SMEs effectively
How CredibleX embeds lending into platforms SMEs already use
Why working-capital finance needs a different approach to traditional business loans
Why payments data alone is not enough to underwrite larger SMEs
How fintech lenders can build the balance sheet needed to scale
Which players could win as competition in SME lending increases
Where AI is creating practical value in lending and KYC
How alternative capital could unlock the next phase of SME financing

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