Muscat – Mamun, an Oman-based Sharia-compliant trade finance platform, has called for targeted trade finance solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as regional supply chain disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict create new opportunities for Omani businesses.

Oman’s re-exports grew 20.3% in 2025 to exceed RO2bn, while non-oil merchandise exports rose 7.5% to RO6.7bn, and non-oil exports to the UAE jumped 25.3% to RO1.3bn, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information. In March 2026, maritime intelligence firm Windward recorded a 1,766% increase in vessel rerouting requests to Sohar Port and an 800% rise at Salalah, as disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz drove trade flows through Omani gateways. Dubai Customs has formalised a Green Corridor, enabling cargo cleared at Omani ports to move overland into UAE markets.

Mamun, in a press release, said these dynamics are creating urgent demand for working capital among SMEs operating in supply chain, manufacturing, food, and export-linked sectors – demand that the traditional financing landscape has yet to fully meet.

The opportunity extends beyond transit trade. Omani SMEs are converting OQ polymer feedstock into finished industrial products for GCC and international buyers, manufacturing branded food products from imported raw materials, and supplying metals and construction inputs from Sohar’s industrial zone across the Gulf. In each case, financing needs arise at the procurement stage, where working capital determines whether a business secures an order or loses it.

Saleh Al Tamami, co-founder and CEO of Mamun, said, “The question is no longer whether SMEs need financing. The question is whether the right financing infrastructure exists to support businesses in sectors that matter to the country’s long-term competitiveness. Oman’s ports are now handling cargo that the wider Gulf used to route elsewhere. The SMEs behind those trade flows need working capital that moves at the speed of opportunity.”

Mamun has deployed RO6.35mn across 156 completed financings in more than 20 sectors since September 2023, supporting over 240 jobs across Omani SMEs.

Al Tamami added, “As an FSA-licensed platform with an investor base spanning more than 55 nationalities, we have seen first-hand that confidence in Omani enterprise can travel when the infrastructure behind it is credible, disciplined, and connected to real economic activity.”

Mamun said the next phase of SME finance in Oman should be defined not only by access to capital, but by access to capital aligned with the realities of productive economic activity and the strategic sectors that contribute most to resilience, local value creation, and export growth.