Dubai's Zamanat brings GCC private credit on-chain with $100M tokenized fund targeting underserved SMEs

Dubai-based Zamanat has launched Zamanat Fund CEIC Limited, a DIFC-domiciled, DFSA-regulated tokenized private credit fund targeting up to $100 million in capital to address an estimated $250 billion SME financing gap across the GCC. The closed-ended Exempt Fund, classified as a Credit Fund, will issue fund interests as ZM1 Investment Tokens on ZIGChain, a Layer 1 blockchain designed for regulated institutional investment products. The tokenized structure will operate within a whitelisted environment restricted to investors who meet DFSA Professional Client criteria.

“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.

The fund will be managed by Truleum Venture Partners Limited, with Apex Group providing institutional fund administration. Zamanat’s use of ZIGChain adds a blockchain-native ownership and settlement layer to the fund while maintaining its conventional credit profile and investment strategy. The whitelisted token approach means participation is limited to DFSA Professional Clients, aligning the digital distribution method with an established regulatory framework.

• Fund name: Zamanat Fund CEIC Limited (DIFC-domiciled)
• Target size: up to $100 million
• Regulation: DFSA-regulated closed-ended Exempt Fund, classified as a Credit Fund
• Management and services: Truleum Venture Partners Limited (manager); Apex Group (fund administration)
• Token issuance: ZM1 Investment Tokens on ZIGChain in a whitelisted environment for DFSA Professional Clients

The launch is positioned to target companies whose financing needs are not fully met by traditional lenders, a problem underscored by regional lending statistics. SMEs contribute more than half of the UAE’s GDP and employ the majority of the private-sector workforce, yet they receive less than 10% of total bank lending in the UAE. Across the broader GCC, only around 11% of SMEs have access to any credit at all. Zamanat has framed the fund’s strategy around regional economic development priorities, explicitly referencing Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE Centennial 2071.

Peter Hughes, Founder and CEO of Apex Group, welcomed the initiative, saying: “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.”

The tokenized fund marks Zamanat’s first live deployment under a broader strategy to develop a global market for Digital Shariah Assets, a category the company says currently lacks an institutional offering. Zamanat is also building a separate pipeline of assets spanning private credit, receivables, and real estate. The move comes as global Islamic finance assets are projected to reach $9.7 trillion by 2029, according to data from LSEG and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), signalling rising institutional demand for Shariah-aligned and digital investment products.