Partners for Growth: Funding Global Entrepreneurship

Lending firms like Partners for Growth (PFG) supplied growth capital to nascent companies, using debt instruments that did not dilute shareholders—contrary to traditional equity funding models. The customized approach allowed entrepreneurs to bring in additional capital without taking dilution in ownership. While instruments such as venture debt was becoming increasingly popular within the U.S. innovation ecosystem, venture debt and tech lending had yet to become widely available to entrepreneurial companies in the Middle East.

PFG saw this as an opportunity to expand into the MENA region ahead of other organizations that were not as comfortable with the debt lending business model for start-up companies. The company’s leaders had just finalized two term sheets and were discussing how PFG might support two different companies in the Middle East: Tabby, a fintech leader looking to expand “Buy Now Pay Later” financing; and Bayzat, a SaaS company that provided human resources solutions to small and medium-sized companies in the region.