Dubai-based Beehive officially launched the region’s first peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending platform today, offering a new funding alternative for small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
With bank lending to small businesses stuck at less than 4 per cent and a lack of traction to fill the void between financial institutions and government, peer-to-peer lending has emerged as a viable funding alternative in the UAE.
Peer-to-peer lending has been around for roughly a decade, sprouting in the U.K. and quickly catching on in the U.S., but it hadn’t existed in the Middle East until the launch this week of Beehive, a new business that aims at securing financing for small businesses in the United Arab Emirates.
Sitting down with Rick Pudner almost a year after Arabian Business broke the news he was resigning as group CEO of Emirates NBD, there are two things you instantly notice about his appearance.
Welcome to the new Beehive blog where we will post up the latest developments and news from Beehive and the peer-to-peer lending industry as well as market trends, best practice and expert advice from our team and guest bloggers.
