Deem Finance LLC, a purpose-led financial services provider committed to enabling the progress of underserved segments in the UAE, today announced a strategic partnership with airpay Technologies Limited, a global digital platform enabling seamless commercial, services, and payment ecosystems.
The collaboration enables airpay to extend Deem’s Merchant Financing solutions directly to airpay’s customer base, helpings SME owners access finance at the point of need — faster, more intelligently, and with greater control.
This partnership marks an important chapter in Deem’s SME growth strategy to co-create value with ecosystem “enablers and embedders” who support the everyday journeys of entrepreneurs — from managing turnover cycles to seizing time-sensitive opportunities and reinforces its position as a trusted partner for embedded credit solutions.
Purpose-Powered Liquidity for the Backbone of the UAE Economy
SMEs represent more than 94% of the businesses in the UAE and serve as the backbone of job creation, supply-chain resilience, and sector diversification. Yet access to finance remains one of their most significant barriers to progress.
Through this partnership, airpay will refer qualified SMEs to Deem while leveraging its ecosystem capabilities to bring founders closer to the support they need. Deem will provide liquidity and medium to short-term lending solutions designed around the realities of SME cash flows, not legacy credit models.
“SMEs are not just businesses; they are families, communities, and the lifeblood of economic resilience,” said Christopher Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of Deem Finance. “This partnership reflects our belief that financial access should meet entrepreneurs where they are delivered at the pace they operate and aligned with the purpose that drives them. By combining innovative ecosystems with responsible finance, we enable founders to transform resilience into progress.”
Under the agreement, airpay and Deem have committed to a partnership model that supports responsible distribution and shared performance outcomes, that strengthens disciplined lending and long-term portfolio health.
Human-Centered Fintech That Moves With the Market
Saurabh Arora, Regional Vice President of airpay, added: “airpay was built on the belief that technology should remove barriers, not replace human ambition. By partnering with Deem, we create a pathway for SMEs who traditionally overlooked but too important to ignore. Together, we’re making access to finance smarter, faster, and more inclusive for the people building tomorrow’s businesses.”
The partnership supports the UAE’s national vision for a digitally enabled, diversified future — one where entrepreneurs can innovate confidently, with access to liquidity that fuels momentum, opportunity, and sustainable growth.
