Enhance raises $18.2 million in equity and venture debt

The round Enhance has raised $18.2 million in a combined equity and venture debt round, according to Wamda . Wamda's report did not disclose the precise split between the equity and debt components of the raise, nor the individual investors involved. Enhance operates in fitness technology, building products around health and fitness services for consumers. Combining equity with venture debt in a single round is a financing structure that lets a company raise growth capital while limiting how much ownership it gives up compared with an equity-only round of the same size — typically used by companies with a more predictable revenue base that can support debt repayment, since lenders generally want confidence that a company can service the debt from its own cash flow rather than needing to raise again just to repay it. Why venture debt is showing up more often The use of venture debt alongside equity in deals like Enhance's reflects a broader shift in how growth-stage companies in the region are structuring their financing. As more companies build revenue-generating businesses with predictable unit economics, debt becomes a more viable complement to equity, letting founders raise growth capital without diluting ownership as heavily as a pure equity round would require. That trend is explored in more depth in TechScoop's analysis of why debt is becoming a bigger part of Middle East startup funding , which situates Enhance's structure within a broader regional pattern rather than treating it as an isolated case. For founders, the appeal of debt is straightforward: it does not require giving up equity or board influence, provided the business can meet its repayment obligations as it grows. Fitness and wellness technology's growth Enhance's raise adds to a wave of health- and wellness-adjacent technology funding in the Gulf this year, a category that also includes Longevium's $7 million raise to build an AI-powered longevity lab in Dubai, covered in TechScoop's report on that round . Both companies are targeting consumer demand for health-related services, though from different angles — Enhance through fitness technology and Longevium through longevity diagnostics and research. What's next With $18.2 million now available, Enhance's stated plan is regional expansion, though the company has not detailed specific new markets or a timeline. The mixed equity-and-debt structure of the round gives it a financing profile distinct from many of the pure-equity rounds that dominate regional startup funding announcements, and one that is likely to become more common as more Gulf technology companies mature into revenue-generating businesses that lenders are comfortable underwriting alongside equity investors. Fitness technology's route to durable revenue Fitness technology businesses, whether built around studios, at-home equipment, apps or a hybrid of the three, tend to succeed commercially when they can convert initial sign-ups into recurring, subscription-style revenue rather than one-off purchases. That subscription revenue is also precisely the kind of predictable cash flow that makes a business more attractive to venture debt lenders in the first place, which is one reason fitness businesses can secure debt financing alongside equity rather than relying on equity investors alone. Regional expansion in this category typically means adapting to different fitness cultures, price sensitivities and, in some markets, gender-specific facility requirements, all of which can affect how directly a model that works in one Gulf market translates to another. How Enhance approaches that localisation, rather than simply replicating its existing offering market by market, will likely shape how efficiently its new capital converts into sustainable growth. The presence of venture debt in the round also means lenders were willing to extend credit to Enhance, a different form of external validation from the growth-focused diligence that pure equity investors typically apply. Sources Wamda