Week ending 7 November 2026: Oman’s mamun raises USD 3 million for Gulf and Asia trade finance

Omani fintech mamun announced a USD 3 million seed round on 4 November, led by Phaze Ventures through its Oman Fund, which is backed by Future Fund Oman, with Abu Dhabi based Jasoor Ventures also taking part. Investors fund approved trade transactions, structured on Sharia compliant terms under a crowdfunding framework overseen by Oman’s Financial Services Authority. It has financed about USD 20 million since Q4 2023 through more than 175 facilities for 84 businesses, 78 of them Omani. Roughly 40% of value is tied to Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and mainland China. Underwriting looks at the purchase order, the buyer, shipping documents and past dealings, and decisions can take days once documents are complete. Co founder and CEO Saleh Al Tamami said the business brings it a transaction, not just a balance sheet.

Do this. If you buy components or goods from Asia, ask for a transaction based quote and have the purchase order, supplier invoice and shipping documents ready in one pack. Lenders like this one decide on the deal, not only on your accounts.

At the Gateway Gulf Investment Forum on 2 and 3 November, Bahrain Development Bank reported results for the SME Fund since March 2026: BD 6.125 million across 114 transactions. Small businesses took 69% of financing, medium sized firms 23% and microenterprises 8%. By sector, trading took 53%, services 32%, manufacturing 8%, transport and logistics 5% and technology, media and telecoms 2%. About 18% went to women and young entrepreneurs. The Musanada liquidity programme, run with Tamkeen from May to September, was about 14% of approved transactions. The fund is a partnership between BDB, BBK, National Bank of Bahrain and Al Salam Bank, and BDB manages it. Minister of Industry and Commerce Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro chairs its advisory board, and BDB Group CEO Dalal Al Qais said demand for financing is strong.

Do this. Bahraini traders, who took more than half the money, should apply through BDB with trading records and customer contracts. The average deal was about BD 54,000 (our calculation), so ask for a modest, well documented amount.

On 4 November TA’ZIZ announced financial close of AED 5.1 billion (USD 1.39 billion), both deals oversubscribed. The terminal gets more than AED 3.41 billion, including AED 826 million of Islamic finance, from nine banks. The ammonia project gets more than AED 1.69 billion on a six year facility from seven banks in China, Kuwait, Spain and Singapore. The terminal is about 70% complete and the ammonia plant more than 90%. Both contractors named are international, and the coverage does not mention local suppliers. TA’ZIZ CEO Mashal Saoud Al Kindi chairs both project companies.

Do this. This is project finance, not SME credit. If you supply maintenance, logistics or materials to Ruwais contractors, ask the main contractor how and when they pay subcontractors, and get approved invoices before you borrow against them.

ADIB is raising up to AED 1.75 billion through new shares at AED 16.45, a 28.8% discount to the 24 August close. Rights trade on the ADX from 4 to 16 November, subscription runs from 10 to 24 November and new shares start trading on 18 December. The bank says the money funds its Vision 2035 growth plan while keeping capital strong. A stronger balance sheet can support Islamic corporate lending, but no new SME facility has been announced.

Do this. If ADIB is your bank, ask your relationship manager after the subscription closes whether limits and trade lines are being reviewed. Do not assume more credit before they say so.

The Central Bank of Kuwait gave final approval on 4 November for Gulf Bank to proceed with full conversion to a Sharia compliant bank, and the bank disclosed it to Boursa Kuwait on 5 November. Chairman Ahmad Mohammad Al Bahar called it a strategic milestone. Gulf Bank must finish the remaining steps and then apply to move from the register of conventional banks to the register of Islamic banks, and no completion date was given. It cannot begin Islamic operations until then. The coverage does not mention SME financing.

Do this. Kuwaiti SMEs that borrow from Gulf Bank should ask how existing facilities will be converted and whether pricing and documents will change.

A PwC GCC Growth Capital Study, reported on 1 November, found USD 1.4 billion of startup and SME equity financing in the first half of 2026 across 171 transactions, with the UAE taking the majority and funding concentrated in a few large deals. These are historical results newly reported, not new November financing.

Source status: figures reported to us from a single source (Al Etihad); we could not open the study.

Do this. Do not read headline equity volume as credit availability. If you need working capital, go to receivables and trade finance, not venture funds.

On 5 November the Oman Observer carried Reuters coverage of a statement by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard that two tankers and a tugboat caught fire in separate incidents, one after striking a mine south of the strait. Everything rests on the Guard’s statement, with no independent confirmation and no casualties reported. Reporting cited to us adds that high freight rates and war risk premiums continue to reshape crude trade, and that S&P Global raised its Brent forecast to USD 105 for the rest of 2026. That forecast is not a market price.

Source status: the 5 November incident rests on the Guard’s statement only; the freight and forecast items are single source.

Do this. If you import by sea, check war risk exclusions in your cargo cover, add delivery buffers and make sure your repayment dates can absorb delays.