how to get more access to capital

Scrolling through LinkedIn the other day, I noticed a trend that felt all too familiar. Entrepreneurs, small business owners, and founders were talking about the same challenge—funding. Not the flashy, headline-grabbing kind that pours millions into the latest unicorn, but the everyday cash flow needed to keep businesses running. One founder summed it up perfectly: "Getting funding today feels like waiting for rain in the desert." It was ironic, considering the post came from the UAE. But then, I came across Flow48.

Flow48, a UAE-based fintech founded in 2022, is tackling one of the biggest challenges for small and midsize businesses (SMBs): access to capital. With equity-based investment slowing down and traditional lending often a bureaucratic nightmare, Flow48 is providing an alternative—revenue-based financing that businesses can secure upfront, without giving away ownership or jumping through endless hoops.

What makes Flow48 stand out is its speed. Traditionally, securing a business loan can take months, involving endless paperwork and back-and-forth negotiations. Flow48 has condensed that timeline to just 48 hours. The secret? A data-driven approach. The platform pulls information from enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, payment gateways, and e-commerce platforms, assessing a company’s credit risk in real time. Instead of waiting on bank approvals, SMBs get a fast, transparent financing solution that keeps them moving.

For many businesses, this kind of financing isn’t just convenient—it’s critical. Imagine running a growing e-commerce brand in Dubai. Sales are booming, but inventory needs to be restocked faster than cash flow allows. Traditional lenders might see this as too risky, but Flow48 looks at actual business performance, not just a rigid credit score. By leveraging real-time financial data, it enables businesses to access capital based on their revenue streams rather than outdated financial statements.

Flow48’s impact goes beyond just speed and accessibility. It’s actively prioritizing investments in women- and minority-led businesses—segments that have historically been overlooked by traditional financial institutions. In 2023, Flow48 completed a pilot with 30 companies, showing promising results. Then in December, it secured $25 million in equity and debt financing from investors including Endeavor Catalyst, 212, and TLG. With operations already in the UAE and Jordan, the company is has recently also expanded into South Africa, in early 2024.

In many ways, Flow48 is redefining SME financing in the region. The old model of securing funding—waiting months, dealing with layers of bureaucracy, and giving up equity—is being replaced by something faster, more flexible, and better suited to the needs of modern businesses. And in an era where liquidity is king, that’s exactly what small businesses need to not just survive, but thrive.

So, to the founders scrolling LinkedIn and wondering where their next round of cash flow will come from—maybe it’s time to check out Flow48. Because waiting for rain in the desert might not be necessary anymore.

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