Dubai, UAE, September 10, 2026 — Chainwire — Zamanat Fund CEIC Limited is the first live proof point from Zamanat for regulated fund tokenization on ZIGChain focused on private credit in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Zamanat 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. The Fund is aimed at addressing the GCC’s estimated $250 billion SME financing gap, with only 11 percent of SMEs across the region currently having access to credit.

Addressing the GCC’s SME credit gap

Small and medium-sized enterprises are central to economic growth across the GCC but remain significantly underserved by traditional financing channels. In the United Arab Emirates, SMEs generate more than half of gross domestic product and employ the majority of the private-sector workforce, while receiving less than 10 percent of total bank lending.

The Fund will invest in private credit across the region, directing capital to established local companies whose financing needs are not fully met through traditional lending channels. The strategy supports national objectives to increase SME participation, promote private-sector growth and expand access to alternative financing, including priorities outlined in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and the UAE Centennial 2071.

“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.

Bringing GCC private credit into digital markets

Tokenization adds digital infrastructure around traditionally hard-to-access private-market assets without changing the underlying investment or credit profile, according to Zamanat.

The Fund combines a regional private credit strategy with a DIFC fund structure, institutional administration and digital issuance on ZIGChain. It is intended to demonstrate how regional private credit can be placed within a Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)-regulated tokenized structure for Professional Clients.

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 the Fund, while Apex Group provides administration. Fund interests will be issued as ZM1 Investment Tokens on ZIGChain within a regulated, whitelisted environment.

As sponsor, Zamanat contributes regional private credit, investment-structuring and institutional-partnership expertise to the Fund’s development. Truleum remains responsible for all regulated fund-management activities.

The ZM1 Investment Token structure provides a blockchain-based ownership and settlement layer within the Fund’s regulated framework. It also enables qualifying investors who meet the DFSA’s Professional Client criteria to participate alongside institutional investors.

Zamanat is backed by Disrupt.com, a MENA-based, operator-led, AI-native venture builder and lead investor in the company.

Zamanat’s Digital Shariah Assets platform

Global Islamic finance assets are projected to reach $9.7 trillion by 2029, according to the LSEG and ICD 2025 Islamic Finance Development Indicator Report. Zamanat said demand for digital and Shariah-aligned assets is growing faster than the institutional infrastructure connecting those assets with global capital.

The company is developing what it describes as a global market for Digital Shariah Assets. Its broader operating model combines investment structuring, Shariah expertise, regulated partner routes and digital distribution to bring real-world assets to market through traditional and digital channels.

The DIFC-domiciled Fund demonstrates the regulated fund-tokenization, digital-ownership and partner-orchestration capabilities within that broader initiative. Zamanat is also progressing a separate pipeline of Digital Shariah Assets spanning private credit, receivables, real estate and other asset classes.

Institutional partnerships

Apex Group is acting as Fund Administrator, providing institutional fund administration and controls from the outset.

“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 \u0026 CEO of Apex Group.

Zamanat said the global market for Digital Shariah Assets does not yet exist as an institutional category and that the company is working to build it.

Sources and investor notice

The release cites the LSEG and ICD, 2025 Islamic Finance Development Indicator Report, dated October 14, 2025, for the projection that global Islamic finance assets will reach $9.7 trillion by 2029; the World Bank report Competition in the GCC SME Lending Markets: An Initial Assessment for the estimated $250 billion GCC SME credit gap and the figure that 11 percent of SMEs have access to credit; and Kearney’s GCC Retail Banking Radar 2024.

This communication regarding Zamanat Fund CEIC Limited was approved by Truleum Venture Partners Limited in the DIFC, which holds DFSA License Number F008013.

The release is for information only and is not an offer, invitation or recommendation to subscribe for interests in Zamanat Fund CEIC Limited or acquire ZM1 Investment Tokens. Any participation will be made only through the Fund Manager, final offering documents and applicable Professional Client eligibility requirements.

The communication is intended for and directed only to investors who meet the requirements to be considered Professional Clients under Rule 2.3.3 of the Dubai Financial Services Authority Conduct of Business Rulebook. The Fund is an “Exempt Fund,” and ZM1 Investment Tokens are therefore available only to Professional Clients.

The release and the information it contains do not constitute, and are not intended to constitute, a public offer of securities in any other jurisdiction and should not be construed as such. ZM1 Investment Tokens are available only to a limited number of investors from the DIFC. The tokens have not been approved, licensed or registered with any other relevant licensing authority or governmental agency. No transaction will be concluded in the onshore UAE outside the DIFC.

The Fund is not an Islamic Fund and is not marketed as Shariah-compliant. References to Shariah in the release concern Zamanat’s broader platform and market ambition, not the Fund.

About Zamanat

Zamanat is building a global market for Digital Shariah Assets. The company connects asset originators with global capital through investment structuring, Shariah expertise, regulated partner routes, tokenization and distribution across traditional and digital channels.

Zamanat also sponsors and develops institutional investment products through appropriately licensed partners. Each product follows its own legal and regulatory framework and, where presented as Shariah-aligned, its own product-specific Shariah review and governance process.

Website: www.zamanathq.com

Global Head of PR \u0026 Communications: Katarzyna Kosior, disrupt.com, info@zamanathq.com