Zamanat Launches $100M Tokenized Credit Fund for GCC SMEs

Zamanat is sponsoring a $100 million tokenized private credit fund domiciled in the Dubai International Financial Centre to address a $250 billion financing gap for small and medium enterprises across the Gulf Cooperation Council. The initiative comes as regional small businesses face acute capital constraints, with only 11% of SMEs across the region currently possessing access to traditional credit.

"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, in a statement regarding the launch.

Fund Structure and Regulatory Framework

The vehicle, officially named Zamanat Fund CEIC Limited, operates as a DFSA-regulated closed-ended fund registered as an Exempt Fund and classified specifically as a Credit Fund, according to an Investing.com report. Management of the fund is handled by Truleum Venture Partners Limited, while fund administration is provided by Apex Group.

Interests in the fund are issued as ZM1 Investment Tokens on ZIGChain. Availability of these tokens is strictly restricted, limited exclusively to Professional Clients operating within the DIFC rather than retail investors.

"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.

What Is at Stake for Regional Credit Markets

The launch highlights an intersection between digital asset infrastructure and traditional private credit markets in the Middle East. By tokenizing credit fund interests on-chain while maintaining compliance with the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the structure aims to bridge institutional liquidity pools with underserved commercial borrowers in the GCC.