MBRIF backs Enhance with AED 5.5m to scale fitness SaaS globally
Enhance, a Dubai-founded fitness technology company, has secured an AED 5.5 million (approximately $1.5 million) credit guarantee from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF), the UAE Ministry of Finance initiative operated by Emirates Development Bank. The financing will support further development of the company's B2B SaaS platform for gym operators and its push into international markets, including the United States.
Founded in 2018 as a consumer-facing personal training marketplace, Enhance has since repositioned as a software platform targeting large-scale gym operators. The company says it now covers more than 700 contracted gym locations across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the US, supports over 15,000 trainers and processes more than 500,000 booked personal training sessions per month.
The deal
MBRIF's Guarantee Scheme provides government-backed credit access to innovative UAE companies without requiring equity transfer, distinguishing it from venture capital instruments. The scheme is designed to de-risk bank lending to high-growth businesses that may lack the collateral required under conventional underwriting criteria.
Tarek Mounir, co-founder and chief executive of Enhance, said: "What began as a platform connecting clients with trainers has evolved into a fully integrated fitness ecosystem powered by proprietary technology. This support will enable us to further scale our operations, invest in product innovation, and expand the reach of our UAE-built SaaS platform internationally."
Fatima Yousif Alnaqbi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for the Support Services Sector at the UAE Ministry of Finance, framed the investment as part of a broader effort to foster a knowledge-based, diversified economy in line with national strategy.
Market context
The gym management and personal training software category remains fragmented, with a mix of established players such as Mindbody, ClubReady and ABC Fitness competing against newer vertically focused platforms. Enhance's stated ambition is to build the default operating standard for personal training at gym-operator level, drawing a comparison to property management systems in hospitality or reservation platforms in food and beverage. The category, as the company itself acknowledges, does not yet have a clear market leader.
GCC technology investment has accelerated materially since 2023, with UAE and Saudi Arabia-backed funds channelling capital into enterprise software and digital health as part of broader economic diversification programmes. The US market entry adds competitive pressure and capital requirements that the MBRIF guarantee alone is unlikely to cover at scale; analysts tracking the region will watch for further equity rounds or strategic partnerships as Enhance attempts to compete outside its home geography.
From a regulatory standpoint, operating a SaaS platform across the GCC and the US requires navigating distinct data protection regimes. The UAE's Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on Personal Data Protection governs consumer data domestically, while US operations will be subject to state-level privacy laws and, depending on the nature of health metrics collected, potential applicability of HIPAA-adjacent frameworks. Enhance has not publicly detailed its compliance architecture for cross-border data flows.
The company's three-to-five year vision centres on becoming the system of record for personal training globally. Whether that trajectory requires institutional venture capital or can be sustained through revenues and credit-guarantee instruments will be a key question as the platform scales beyond its established GCC base.