Zamanat Launches $100M Tokenized Private Credit Fund to Bridge GCC SME Financing Gap

Quick Summary

Zamanat has launched a $100 million tokenized private credit fund in the DIFC to address the $250 billion financing gap for SMEs in the GCC. By utilizing blockchain-native ownership on ZIGChain, the fund provides professional investors with regulated access to high-growth private credit opportunities across the Middle East.

How Does Zamanat Solve the $250 Billion SME Financing Gap in the GCC?

SME credit access remains a critical bottleneck for economic expansion in the Gulf region, where only 11 percent of SMEs currently have access to formal credit. Despite generating over 50% of GDP in the UAE and employing the vast majority of the private workforce, these businesses receive less than 10% of bank lending. Zamanat addresses this structural imbalance by directing institutional capital toward homegrown companies with strong fundamentals that are overlooked by traditional banks.

• $250 billion gap targeted across the GCC region.
• 100 million dollars target fund size for private credit.
• Vision 2030 alignment to support Saudi and UAE national economic goals.

“Strong businesses across the GCC still struggle to access growth capital despite sound fundamentals. Zamanat sponsored the Fund to create a credible route between those businesses and institutional capital. With a target size of up to USD 100 million and interests issued as Investment Tokens, it is our first live proof point for bringing GCC private credit into a regulated digital structure for Professional Clients,” said Umair Tariq, Founder and CEO of Zamanat.

What are the Benefits of Tokenized Private Credit for Professional Investors?

Tokenized private credit offers a modernized infrastructure for traditionally opaque and hard-to-access private market assets. By issuing interests as ZM1 Investment Tokens on the ZIGChain blockchain, the fund ensures a transparent, blockchain-native settlement layer within a strictly regulated DFSA framework. This approach allows Professional Clients to participate in institutional-grade credit strategies with enhanced liquidity potential and digital ownership records.

• DFSA-regulated structure ensures institutional-grade compliance and oversight.
• ZIGChain digital issuance provides a secure, whitelisted environment for tokens.
• Apex Group administration delivers professional-tier fund controls and reporting.

“Zamanat is supporting the creation of a new category in Digital Assets. Bringing institutional structure and digital distribution together within a DFSA-regulated framework sets the standard for how this market should be built, and this fund shows the model working at institutional scale. We are proud to support the infrastructure behind it, and we look forward to partnering further on the projects Zamanat already has in motion,” said Peter Hughes, Founder & CEO, Apex Group.

How Does the ZIGChain Integration Secure Digital Shariah Assets?

Digital Shariah Assets represent a massive growth opportunity, with global Islamic finance assets expected to hit $9.7 trillion by 2029. Zamanat is building the global market for these assets by combining Shariah-compliant structuring with digital distribution. The use of ZIGChain technology allows for the seamless orchestration of real-world assets, including receivables and real estate, into a digital format that meets the high standards of global institutional capital.

FF NEWS TAKE:

This announcement is a major milestone for the Middle East's financial ecosystem. By successfully launching tokenized private credit within the DIFC's regulated environment, Zamanat is proving that the future of alternative SME financing is digital. This move significantly moves the needle for the industry by bridging the gap between Web3 infrastructure and traditional institutional finance, providing a scalable model for closing the massive credit gap in emerging markets.