AI Underwriting Aims to Close Exporters' Trade Gap
The US$3 million seed round funds an operating, FSA-licensed platform targeting the US$2.5 trillion global trade finance gap.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Startups
Live Poll
Do you trust AI-based lending to treat small local businesses fairly?
mamun, a Sharia-compliant platform building capital infrastructure for trade finance, raised a US$3 million seed round led by Phaze Ventures through its Oman Fund, with Jasoor Ventures participating. The platform is licensed and regulated by the Financial Services Authority of Oman (FSA Licence CMI051); the funding is for a product that is operating, not an announced future service.
Why it matters
Banks rarely bridge the payment gap for exporters because they usually rely on a long financial track record that many small exporters lack, and the Asian Development Bank puts the global trade finance gap at US$2.5 trillion. mamun's model uses AI-native underwriting that assesses the company, contract, buyer, trade documents and trading history together, reflecting a wider shift in which 84% of banks in an ADB survey now apply AI to trade finance risk.
The figures are an ADB estimate of the US$2.5 trillion trade finance gap and an ADB survey in which 84% of banks apply AI to trade finance risk, with 41% of SME applications rejected as the access benchmark. The extraction does not provide mamun's transaction volumes or underwriting performance, so the platform's results remain unverified.
The players
mamun
A Sharia-compliant trade finance platform that uses AI-native underwriting and an origination engine, licensed by Oman's Financial Services Authority.
Phaze Ventures
An investor that led the seed round through its Oman Fund.
Jasoor Ventures
An investor that participated in the mamun seed round.
Asian Development Bank
A multilateral development bank whose estimate of the US$2.5 trillion global trade finance gap and January 2026 survey frame the market.
The details
mamun's AI-native underwriting assesses the company, the contract, the buyer, the trade documents and the trading history between them, rather than relying only on a long financial record. Its origination engine finds and screens trades as they form, after which investors on the platform finance the gap in the trade. Because roughly 40% of settlements clear through Hong Kong-based institutions and businesses, the platform's flows connect to the financing gateway for Greater Bay Area trade.
Timeline
January 2026: the Asian Development Bank published its survey on AI in trade finance.
First seven months of 2026: Oman's non-oil exports grew about 10% and re-exports grew 13.6% year-on-year.
4 November 2026: the mamun seed round was announced.
The Tech Race
The ADB's January 2026 survey shows 84% of banks already applying AI to trade finance risk, so mamun is competing in a field where incumbents are adopting similar tools. Its differentiator is serving exporters that lack the long financial track records banks usually require, which places it in a niche rather than against established bank underwriting directly.
Small exporters that struggle to obtain bank financing could gain access to trade finance through investor-funded deals on the platform, though the extraction does not state availability timelines, eligible markets beyond the corridor named, or pricing. Trade finance users should treat the platform as an operating, licensed service whose capacity and terms are not yet detailed in the source.
The takeaway
Watch whether mamun's settlement volumes and underwriting outcomes are disclosed as it scales along the Greater Bay Area, Oman, and UAE corridor. Track whether the ADB's next trade finance survey shows the share of AI-applying banks rising beyond 84%.
Further reading
For more on how young companies are raising and deploying capital, explore the Startups section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Macau Business.
Live Poll
Do you trust AI-based lending to treat small local businesses fairly?
