Zamanat Targets GCC SME Credit Gap With Tokenized Fund

Zamanat has announced its sponsorship of Zamanat Fund CEIC Limited, a DIFC-domiciled tokenized private credit fund with a target size of up to USD 100 million, aimed squarely at a gap the region has struggled to close through conventional lending.The numbers behind that gap are the story. Across the GCC the SME credit shortfall is estimated at $250 billion, with only 11% of SMEs holding credit access. In the UAE, SMEs generate more than half of GDP and employ most of the private-sector workforce, yet receive under 10% of total bank lending.

Where the capital goes

The Fund will invest in private credit across the region, directing capital towards homegrown companies underserved by traditional channels. Zamanat positions the strategy against national policy targets for SME participation and alternative financing, including Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and the UAE Centennial 2071."Strong businesses across the GCC still struggle to access growth capital despite sound fundamentals," said Umair Tariq, Founder and CEO of Zamanat. "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."

The structure, and what tokenization changes

Tokenization here expands the infrastructure around a hard-to-access private-market asset without altering the underlying investment or credit profile — a distinction worth holding onto, since the credit risk of GCC SME lending is unchanged by the wrapper.The Fund is a DFSA-regulated closed-ended fund registered as an Exempt Fund and classified as a Credit Fund. Truleum Venture Partners Limited manages it and retains responsibility for all regulated fund-management activities; Apex Group administers it. Interests are issued as ZM1 Investment Tokens on ZIGChain inside a regulated, whitelisted environment, giving a blockchain-native ownership and settlement layer and letting qualifying Professional Clients participate alongside institutions.It arrives in a fast-growing category. Active onchain private credit stood at $18.9 billion in April 2026, up 180% year on year, making it the breakout use case for tokenization as Apollo, BlackRock and WisdomTree moved in. Most of that activity has been US and Europe-facing; GCC SME credit is a different underlying entirely.

The wider platform ambition

Zamanat frames the Fund as evidence of capability within a larger build: a global market for Digital Shariah Assets, combining investment structuring, Shariah expertise, regulated partner routes and digital distribution. Global Islamic finance assets are projected to reach $9.7 trillion by 2029 on LSEG and ICD figures, against infrastructure the company argues has not kept pace.The regulatory scaffolding is itself moving — the DFSA opened a consultation in May 2026 on when firms need Islamic endorsement and how Shariah disclosure should work in the DIFC. A separate pipeline across private credit, receivables and real estate is in progress. Zamanat is backed by Disrupt.com, a MENA-based venture builder."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," said Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group.

Frequently asked questions

Who can invest?

Only investors meeting the DFSA Professional Client criteria under Conduct of Business Rulebook Rule 2.3.3, via the Fund Manager and final offering documents.

Is this a Shariah-compliant fund?

No. Zamanat states the Fund is not an Islamic Fund and is not marketed as Shariah-compliant.

Does tokenization change the credit risk?

No. Zamanat describes tokenization as expanding the infrastructure around the asset without changing the underlying investment or credit profile.