Dubai, UAE, September 10, 2026 — Chainwire

Zamanat has announced the 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 focused on private credit in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and is the company’s first live proof point for regulated fund tokenization on ZIGChain.

The Fund targets the GCC’s estimated $250 billion small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing gap. Only 11 percent of SMEs across the region have access to credit, according to the World Bank’s Competition in the GCC SME Lending Markets: An Initial Assessment.

Addressing the GCC’s SME credit gap

SMEs are central to economic growth across the GCC but remain significantly underserved by traditional financing. 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 toward strong homegrown companies whose financing needs are not fully met through conventional lending channels. Its strategy supports national ambitions to expand SME participation, private-sector growth and access to alternative financing, including priorities set out under 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.

Tokenized private credit structure

Tokenization expands the infrastructure around traditionally hard-to-access private-market assets without changing the underlying investment or credit profile. The Fund combines a regional private credit strategy, a DIFC fund structure, institutional administration and digital issuance on ZIGChain.

The Fund is a DFSA-regulated closed-ended fund registered as an Exempt Fund and classified as a Credit Fund. It is managed by Truleum Venture Partners Limited and administered by Apex Group. Fund interests will be issued as ZM1 Investment Tokens on ZIGChain within a regulated, whitelisted environment.

Because the Fund is closed-ended and the tokens are restricted to qualifying Professional Clients, the launch demonstrates regulated digital issuance and settlement infrastructure rather than creating unrestricted public access to private credit. Participation remains subject to the Fund Manager, final offering documents and applicable eligibility requirements.

Zamanat is providing regional private credit, investment-structuring and institutional-partnership expertise for the Fund’s development. Truleum retains responsibility for all regulated fund-management activities.

The ZM1 Investment Token structure provides a blockchain-native ownership and settlement layer within the Fund’s regulated framework. It also allows qualifying investors who meet the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) 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 business.

Digital Shariah Assets strategy

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, published October 14, 2025. Zamanat said demand for digital and Shariah-aligned assets is growing faster than the institutional infrastructure connecting them with global capital.

The company is building a market for Digital Shariah Assets through a model that combines investment structuring, Shariah expertise, regulated partner routes and digital distribution. The model is intended to bring real-world assets to market through traditional and digital channels.

Zamanat said the DIFC-domiciled Fund demonstrates its capabilities in regulated fund tokenization, digital ownership and partner orchestration. The company is also progressing a separate pipeline of Digital Shariah Assets across private credit, receivables, real estate and other asset classes.

The global market for Digital Shariah Assets does not yet exist as an institutional category, Zamanat said.

Institutional administration

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.

Sources and investor notice

The financing-gap estimate and SME credit-access figure are cited from the World Bank’s Competition in the GCC SME Lending Markets: An Initial Assessment. The projection for global Islamic finance assets is from the LSEG and ICD 2025 Islamic Finance Development Indicator Report. Zamanat also cited Kearney’s GCC Retail Banking Radar 2024.

The communication concerning 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.

Participation may take place only through the Fund Manager, final offering documents and applicable Professional Client eligibility requirements. The communication is directed only to investors who meet the requirements to be considered Professional Clients under the Dubai Financial Services Authority Conduct of Business Rulebook, Rule 2.3.3. The Fund is an “Exempt Fund,” and the ZM1 Investment Tokens are 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. The ZM1 Investment Tokens are available only to a limited number of investors from the DIFC and 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 connects asset originators with global capital through investment structuring, Shariah expertise, regulated partner routes, tokenization and distribution across traditional and digital channels. The company 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

Original release: https://coinomedia.com/zamanat-targets-gccs-250-billion-sme-financing-gap-with-up-to-100-million-tokenized-private-credit-fund/

Related organizations:

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