mamun, a Muscat-based platform that finances cross-border trade under Islamic finance rules, has raised $3m in a seed round. The company announced the funding on 4 November 2026.
Phaze Ventures led the round through its Oman Fund. Jasoor Ventures also invested.
mamun did not disclose a valuation or any earlier funding.
“The businesses moving goods between the Gulf and Asia are growing faster than the financing behind them.”Saleh Al Tamami, Co-Founder and CEO, mamun
How mamun works
Importers and exporters often wait 60 to 90 days between shipping goods and getting paid, CFOtech reported. mamun lets businesses that need money for imports, exports or working capital raise it from investors on its platform. Its Shariah governance is independently certified by Ihkam Advisors, according to its website.
Before a trade is offered to investors, mamun reviews the business, the shipment, the contract, the buyer, the paperwork and the past dealings between the two sides, TNGlobal reported. Investors can browse the deals and put in money online in conventional currency or stablecoins, and they are repaid as the underlying trades settle. The site warns that returns are not guaranteed.
On its website, mamun says it has financed $16m of trade for more than 8,000 investors across four Gulf markets. Businesses applying must be based in Oman, the UAE, Bahrain or Qatar.
Why trade finance
The company argues that smaller firms struggle to get bank trade finance because they lack long financial records, and that cross-border deals are harder still because they span several regulators, banking systems and legal regimes. Citing Asian Development Bank figures, it put the global trade finance gap at $2.5 trillion and said 41% of small-business trade finance applications are rejected, CFOtech reported.
mamun also pointed to Oman's trade growth: non-oil exports rose about 10% year on year in the first seven months of 2026 and re-exports 13.6%, with the UAE the country's largest non-oil trading partner.
The Gulf–Asia corridor
The company's focus is trade between China's Greater Bay Area, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Muscat is its regulated base and origination centre, Abu Dhabi handles Gulf capital and UAE flows, and Hong Kong serves as the link to the Greater Bay Area. About 40% of its trade finance settlements already clear through institutions and businesses based in Hong Kong, the company said.
"The businesses moving goods between the Gulf and Asia are growing faster than the financing behind them," said Saleh Al Tamami, co-founder and chief executive.
The new money will go into mamun's AI-based systems for sourcing and underwriting trades, and into raising the volume of trade it can take on, assess and fund along that route. mamun operates under the crowdfunding framework of Oman's Financial Services Authority, which the company says allows it to take investors from inside and outside Oman and to fund companies beyond the sultanate, subject to eligibility rules.
Founders and backers
Saleh Al Tamami started mamun in 2019 with Mohammed Al Tamami, the chief commercial officer, and Ahmed Al-Issaei, the chief technology officer. The company ranked 26th as a Rising Star in Deloitte's Technology Fast 50 Middle East for 2025.
Phaze Ventures, founded in 2018, is Oman's oldest private venture capital firm, according to TNGlobal. "Our thesis is backing the homegrown companies that turn Oman's diversification agenda into regional infrastructure," said Abdullah Al Shaksy, its co-founder and chief executive. Jasoor Ventures is based in Abu Dhabi Global Market and backs early-stage technology companies across the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.
Company website: mamun.om