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Mamun, a Muscat-based Shariah-compliant trade finance platform, has raised a US$3 million seed round led by Phaze Ventures through its Oman Fund, with participation from Jasoor Ventures. It will use the money to scale its AI-based origination and underwriting along the corridor between the Greater Bay Area, Oman and the UAE.
What is shariah-compliant trade finance
Shariah-compliant trade finance pays for the buying and selling of goods through contracts that follow Islamic law, which prohibits charging interest. The financier earns a profit from a sale of goods, not from interest on a loan.
A common structure is murabaha. The financier buys the goods from the supplier and takes ownership, then sells them to the trader at a price that includes a disclosed profit margin, paid later or in instalments. The price is fixed when the contract is signed and doesn’t change if market rates move. The financier must own the goods before reselling them and carries the ownership risk in between, which Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank says separates a sale from a loan. Mamun has said it settles trade finance through murabaha contracts for its GCC customers.
The figures around it:
- The gap it targets: the Asian Development Bank puts the global trade finance gap at US$2.5 trillion, about 10% of global trade and unchanged from 2023. SMEs’ trade finance applications were rejected at a rate of 41%, against 40% for large and mid-cap companies. The ADB says that finding needs more research, and that part of the gap may reflect falling commodity prices rather than lack of access.
- Islamic trade finance in use: the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, reported US$9.35 billion in trade finance approvals in 2025 across 144 operations in 25 member countries. Energy took US$6.47 billion of that.
- The wider market: global Islamic finance assets reached US$5.98 trillion in 2024, up 21% on the year, according to LSEG and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector. The UAE ranks third in their 2025 development indicator, behind Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.
None of these figures measures Shariah-compliant trade finance for SMEs specifically. No source found sizes that market.
The platform assesses the trading company and the specific trade, including the contract, buyer, documents and trading history, and platform investors then fund the financing gap. About 40% of its trade finance settlements clear through Hong Kong-based institutions and businesses. The release gives no figures for the financing mamun has arranged or the number of investors.
The UAE is Oman’s largest non-oil trading partner, and mamun has an entity in Abu Dhabi alongside Muscat and Hong Kong. Jasoor Ventures, which took part in the round, is ADGM-based.
Co-founder and chief executive Saleh Al Tamami said,
“The businesses moving goods between the Gulf and Asia are growing faster than the financing behind them” .
Way ahead
Mamun is regulated by Oman’s Financial Services Authority under its crowdfunding framework, which lets it take investors and finance companies inside and outside Oman, subject to its eligibility criteria and the laws of each investor’s country. The release states it is not licensed by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission and is not an offer or invitation to invest. Its co-founders are Saleh Al Tamami, Mohammed Al Tamami and Ahmed Al-Issaei.
FAQs
Who led mamun’s seed round?
Phaze Ventures, through its Oman Fund, with participation from Jasoor Ventures. The round is US$3 million.
What will mamun do with the money?
Scale its AI-based origination and underwriting along the Greater Bay Area, Oman and UAE trade corridor.
Who regulates mamun?
Oman’s Financial Services Authority, under its crowdfunding framework. It is not licensed by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission.
Editor’s Take: The release says mamun finances trade between Asia and the Gulf and has an Abu Dhabi entity, but it gives no figures for the UAE share of its business. The number to ask for is the volume of financing originated against UAE trades, along with the total arranged since launch.