Sunday 23 / August / 2026
Muscat: Alternative lending in Oman is growing rapidly, driven by Oman Vision 2040 to support startups and small businesses. Alternative lending is any credit that does not come from a normal bank. It covers peer-to-peer lending, debt and equity crowdfunding, invoice finance, buy-now-pay-later and private credit funds.
“Crowdfunding platforms raised about OMR19 million in 2025, more than three times the OMR5.9 million raised in 2024 and the number of funded projects by them have more than doubled, from 114 to 243,” said and industry watcher.
“Since 2022 these platforms have provided OMR29.4 million to 357 projects, having started with just 21 projects worth OMR1.7 million in their first year,” Shuja Khan, Business Head (GCC), Graystone Capital.
He further pointed out that the regional picture is bigger and alternative lending in the Middle East is expected to grow from $18.9 billion in 2025 to $31.3 billion by 2029. Saudi Arabia had licensed 14 debt crowdfunding companies by late 2025. The need is clear: the SME funding gap in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is estimated at about $250 billion, and small firms receive only around 3 per cent of total bank lending.
When asked whether alternative lending can transform SME financing in Oman, Shuja Khan said, “Not yet as OMR19 million is very small next to a banking system where SME lending is still around 3.7 per cent of total credit, below the 5 per cent floor set by the regulator.
“What these platforms have proved is that the model works here. If it grows into invoice finance, sales-linked lending and Sharia-compliant private credit, the picture will change. If it stays a niche, the gap will stay where it is,” he further elaborated.
Oman’s alternative lending landscape is young but working with the first licensed crowdfunding platform beginning its operation in 2022, Shuja Khan pointed out.
“Seven platforms were active in 2025, down from nine, which the regulator reads as a sign that the stronger operators are surviving,” he said.
“The businesses being funded are ordinary ones: food and drink, logistics, media and marketing, interior design, small factories, shops and beauty salons. These are the firms that banks have found hardest to serve. Alongside the platforms sit finance and leasing companies, buy-now-pay-later providers and a small venture capital scene,” he further added.
“While a bank asks what a business owns. These lenders ask what a business earns, and they check it through payment records, invoices and sales data rather than years of audited accounts. Loans are usually smaller, decisions come faster, and no property is pledged,” Shuja Khan pointed out.
Online lending platforms are finally putting real money into Omani small businesses but the question is whether the amounts are big enough to change anything, said an industry watcher.
“Ask an Omani business owner why the bank turned down their loan, and the answer is usually not about the business. It is about collateral,” said Shuja Khan.
“Banks in the Gulf often ask a small firm to pledge assets worth 200 to 250 per cent of the loan, while large companies are asked for about 140 per cent. Most service firms, tech firms and young businesses do not own that much. Their sales may be healthy, but they still get a no,” he further added.
Speaking about regulatory bodies for alternative lending in Oman he elaborated that there are two bodies who share this job. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) licenses crowdfunding platforms under Decision No. 153/2021.
“It set the minimum capital for a platform at only OMR25,000, a deliberate choice to let young Omanis start their own platforms,” he said.
The FSA also acts when standards slip, and it cancelled two platform licenses in 2025.
Then the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) covers the rest. Under the Banking Law it supervises financing, leasing, money transfers, electronic services, crowdfunding and Islamic finance, and it must decide on licence applications within 90 days.
“It has also built the support system that makes lending without collateral possible: a fintech regulatory sandbox opened in December 2020, a fintech innovation hub, and an accelerator whose graduates include the platform Wadiaa, buy-now-pay-later firm Tasheel and savings app Zumr. The Mala’a credit bureau supplies the credit data that lenders need,” he added.
When asked about whether there are non-bank financial institutions in Oman that offer alternative lending, Shuja Khan said: “Yes, and the range is widening. Finance and leasing companies have served vehicle and equipment buyers for years. Oman Development Bank lends up to OMR20,000 for micro projects and OMR250,000 for SMEs, and it takes on sectors that commercial banks avoid.
“In addition, licensed crowdfunding platforms now provide short-term working capital. Investors such as Oman Technology Fund and Phaze Ventures back young companies with equity. Oman’s fintech market was worth about OMR1.1bn in 2025 and is growing by around 16 per cent a year.”
Elaborating about whether Sharia-compliant are also offering alternative finance options, he said,” Yes, and it matters here, because many Omani owners will not take interest-based loans. Islamic banking assets reached OMR9.8 billion by May 2026, about 19 per cent of all banking assets, with Islamic financing up 10.5 per cent in a year to OMR7.9 billion.”
Fitch expects Oman’s Islamic finance industry to reach about $45bn in 2026, up from around $36bn. Sharia-compliant platforms already operate, including a licensed venture run by Ethis. The CBO has approved a Sharia-compliant framework for finance and leasing companies and launched a Sharia liquidity system built on Qard Hasan and restricted Mudaraba.
SMEs and startups in Oman
Shuja Khan further that public support is large and growing. Oman had about 267,535 SMEs at the end of 2025. Riyada issued more than 19,000 Entrepreneurship Cards in the first half of 2026 and has financed over 400 projects worth OMR38 million since 2022.
“Future Fund Oman, which has OMR2 billion to invest over five years, sets aside 7 per cent for SMEs and 3 per cent for startups. A national SME strategy for 2026 to 2030 puts finance and market access at the centre,” he added.
