Dubai's Zamanat brings GCC private credit on-chain with $100M tokenized fund targeting underserved SMEs

What happened

Dubai-based Zamanat announced a tokenized private credit fund, Zamanat Fund CEIC Limited, domiciled in the Dubai International Financial Centre, with a target size of up to $100 million. The fund aims to address an estimated $250 billion gap in SME financing demand across the GCC.

Confirmed

Global impact / market context

This fund could provide a new way for small businesses to borrow money, since traditional banks lend to very few of them. By using digital tokens, the fund may make it easier for investors to put money into these loans, potentially helping more SMEs grow.

Analyst inference

SMEs in the GCC are a major part of the economy but get very little bank credit. This fund targets that gap, offering investors a chance to earn returns from business loans. It could also pressure traditional lenders to offer more financing to small companies.

Analyst inference

What to watch

1. Watch whether the fund reaches its target size of up to $100 million, as announced on September 10, 2026. Reaching this goal would show investor interest in this new type of lending. Confirmed
2. Watch if other companies in the GCC create similar tokenized funds to compete for the estimated $250 billion in unmet SME financing demand, which could expand access to credit for small businesses. Proposed
3. Watch how traditional banks respond to this new competition. They might start lending more to SMEs, which currently receive less than 10% of total bank lending in the region, potentially changing the lending landscape. Analyst inference

Evidence

• finbold.com