Omani fintech mamun raises $3M for Gulf–Asia trade finance
What's the deal? MamunDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Sharia-compliant trade-finance platform, has raised a $3 million seed round led by Phaze VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → through its Oman Fund, with participation from Jasoor VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The startup is anchored in Muscat, Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong, and finances cross-border trade along the Greater Bay Area–Oman–UAE corridor.
What's the endgame? Mamun targets a familiar gap: an exporter ships today but gets paid in 60 to 90 days, and banks rarely bridge that wait because small exporters lack a long financial track record. Its AI-native underwriting assesses the company behind the trade — the contract, the buyer, the documents, and the trading history — then lets investors on the platform finance the gap.
The Asian Development Bank puts the global trade-finance gap at $2.5 trillion, with 41% of SME applications rejected.
Why now? The corridor is expanding: Oman's non-oil exports rose about 10% year-on-year through the first seven months of 2026, with the UAE its largest non-oil trading partner. Roughly 40% of mamun's trade-finance settlements already clear through Hong Kong-based institutions, and the company has partnered with Credit Oman to apply trade-credit insurance to eligible facilities.
What could go wrong? Cross-border deals span two regulators, two banking systems, and two legal regimes, and new corridors bring counterparties with no shared history to underwrite against. Mamun's licence sits within Oman's FSA crowdfunding framework, letting it finance and raise capital inside and outside the Sultanate, but the announcement does not disclose how much trade it has financed.
The $3 million will scale that origination and underwriting engine. "This round scales that engine — and the corridor it serves," said co-founder and chief executive officer Saleh Al Tamami.
The signal: At $3 million, this is a targeted bet rather than a large raise by regional standards, landing against a softer GCC startup and SME funding backdrop in the first half of 2026. It reflects where the industry is heading: 84% of banks in the ADB's January 2026 survey already apply AI to trade-finance risk — and mamun's significance will hinge on whether it can turn the corridor into meaningful financed volume.
Read more: portal.sina.com.hk
Image credit: wirralwater
