mamun raises $3M to bankroll Gulf-Asia trade finance

MUSCAT — mamun, the Sharia-compliant trade finance platform out of Muscat, has raised $3M in a seed round led by Phaze Ventures through its Oman Fund, with Jasoor Ventures joining, Media OutReach reports.

The number is small. The plumbing is not. mamun finances cross-border trade between the Gulf and Asia, and about 40% of its settlements already clear through institutions in Hong Kong, where it keeps an entity alongside its ADGM presence. Its site claims $16M financed to date across more than 8,000 investors in four GCC markets.

Founded in 2019 by Saleh Al Tamami, Mohammed Al Tamami and Ahmed Al-Issaei, mamun holds an FSA crowdfunding licence in Oman and raised a $300K seed back in 2022. Phaze, Omantel Innovation Labs and SparkLabs have been around since the early days.

The read: this is Oman putting sovereign-anchored capital behind its own trade finance stack. Phaze's Oman Fund is anchored by ITHCA, Ominvest, the Oman LNG development foundation and Future Fund Oman, and the same manager announced two new funds targeting more than $75M only last week. The ADB puts the global trade finance gap at $2.5 trillion, with SMEs carrying a 41% rejection rate. If mamun's Hong Kong corridor keeps clearing, expect a Series A sized for the gap, not the geography.