Trellen Capital Limited (“Trellen”), a Dubai International Financial Centre (“DIFC”)-based firm regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (“DFSA”), recently announced the successful completion of its inaugural SME financing transaction, supporting the continued growth of a Dubai-based trading and distribution business serving the healthcare and cosmetics sectors.
Trellen arranged the facility through a dedicated investment vehicle for Professional and Institutional Investors. The financing will enable the company to accelerate its growth plans, strengthen working capital and expand its operations across the UAE.
The transaction marks an important milestone in Trellen’s mission to improve access to private credit for established UAE SMEsโbusinesses that form the backbone of the national economy but often face limited financing options despite strong operating fundamentals.
Industry sources added that small and medium-sized enterprises account for more than 94% of businesses in the UAE and play a critical role in driving innovation, employment and economic diversification. Yet many established SMEs continue to face challenges accessing flexible, timely and appropriately structured financing. Trellen was established to help address the UAE’s estimated USD 100 billion SME funding gap by connecting high-quality businesses with private capital through a disciplined, technology-enabled credit assessment process that delivers faster, more informed lending decisions.
“Completing our first financing transaction is an important milestone for Trellen, but more importantly it demonstrates that established UAE SMEs have another pathway to access the growth capital they need,” saidย Ali Pirbhai, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Trellen. “Too many strong businesses are constrained not by opportunity, but by access to flexible financing. Our approach combines advanced data analysis, AI-enabled insights and experienced credit judgement to understand businesses on their own merits and structure financing that reflects how they actually operate. This transaction is the first of many as we continue supporting ambitious SMEs across the UAE.”
Dr Vince Cook, Chairman of Trellen, added: “SMEs are one of the UAE’s greatest economic strengths, and expanding their access to capital is essential to sustaining long-term growth. Many successful businesses continue to face financing gaps at critical stages of their development. Trellen was established to help bridge that gap by unlocking private capital for high-quality businesses, and this first transaction is an important step towards building a deeper, more dynamic private credit market in the UAE.”
The announcement follows Trellen’s recent approval from the DFSA to manage a Collective Investment Fund, further strengthening the firm’s ability to structure and manage investment solutions for Professional and Institutional Investors.
Co-founded by Ali Pirbhai, Chief Executive Officer, and Tamer Bazzari, Managing Partner, Trellen combines technology-enabled credit intelligence with deep private credit expertise to evaluate borrowers and arrange financing tailored to their business needs. Through its DIFC-based operations and European investment vehicle, Trellen is expanding access to alternative financing solutions for established SMEs while offering investors exposure to one of the UAE’s fastest-growing and most underserved asset classes.
