e& enterprise, a part of Abu Dhabi-headquartered technology and telecom company e&, has signed a binding agreement to acquire a majority stake in Beehive, a Dubai-based regulated peer to peer lending platform for SMEs.

The National reported that e& enterprise will acquire between 61% and 69% of Beehive at an enterprise value of US$35 million. In a statement, e& enterprise noted that it aims to combine its strong brand positioning with Beehive’s fintech platform to support the growth of SMEs.

“The acquisition of Beehive’s digital lending platform marks the second step in e& enterprise’s journey in the fintech space, after the launch of UAE Trade Connect in 2021,” said Salvador Anglada, CEO of e& Enterprise. “SMEs are important drivers of the economy, and there is a need more than ever to support their unique financing needs. With Beehive, we have the right technological innovation to accelerate on our agenda in the UAE and beyond.”

Founded in 2014, Beehive operates in the UAE, KSA, and Oman to connect creditworthy SMEs seeking finance with investors, both private and institutional, offering conventional as well as Sharia compliant loans. The company recently reached a milestone of facilitating over AED1.5 billion worth of loans.

“This strategic alignment presents a huge opportunity to increase and accelerate financing to SMEs across the region,” said Craig Moore, founder and CEO, Beehive. “The market leading brand, reach and vision of e& and e& enterprise allows Beehive to drive more innovation and collaboration into the market. As one of the very first regional fintech companies, this is a validation of the Beehive team’s incredible effort over the last nine years, and reflects the vibrancy and success of the UAE’s startup ecosystem.”

The acquisition has been said to demonstrate e& enterprise’s commitment to open new avenues of growth across the UAE and in the region, which is in line with the UAE’s National Agenda for Entrepreneurship that aims to establish the country as an entrepreneurial nation by 2031. Earlier this year in April, e& had also announced a US$400 million investment in UAE-born Careem’s Super App business.

A recently published report by Deloitte pointed out the need to widen and tailor the range of instruments to finance SMEs at various stages of their business- from seed, startup to growth and more matured businesses. The report also revealed that SME lending in the GCC is 3%, with an estimated credit gap of $250 billion.

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