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An assessment published by Times of Oman on August 24 highlighted how alternative lending options for small and medium-sized enterprises have expanded rapidly with Shuja Khan business head for the GCC at Graystone Capital reporting that crowdfunding platforms raised OMR19 million in 2025 more than triple the OMR5.9 million recorded a year earlier. The number of funded projects more than doubled from 114 to 243 during that period while cumulative financing since the first licensed platform opened in 2022 has reached OMR29.4 million for 357 projects after an inaugural year limited to 21 projects worth OMR1.7 million. Khan told Times of Oman that seven platforms were active last year down from nine a shift the regulator views as evidence that stronger operators are consolidating. He added that while the volumes remain modest relative to the wider banking system the model has demonstrated viability in the sultanate.
Riyada the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority placed the total number of SMEs at roughly 267535 by the end of 2025. The authority issued more than 19000 Entrepreneurship Cards in the first half of 2026 and has backed over 400 projects valued at OMR38 million since 2022 according to its records. Future Fund Oman which manages OMR2 billion for investment across five years directs 7 percent of that allocation to SMEs and 3 percent to startups as authorities widen support channels.
The national SME strategy for 2026-2030 identifies enhanced finance and market access as central pillars Riyada reported. Khan confirmed that non-bank financial institutions are broadening their presence noting that finance and leasing companies have financed vehicle and equipment purchases for years. The Oman Development Bank supplies loans of up to OMR20000 for micro-enterprises and OMR250000 for SMEs frequently in sectors where commercial banks have shown limited appetite.
Oman’s fintech sector reached OMR1.1 billion in value during 2025 and is expanding at an annual rate near 16 percent Khan stated. Licensed crowdfunding platforms have begun extending short-term working capital while equity investors including the Oman Technology Fund and Phaze Ventures provide backing to young companies. “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” Khan told Times of Oman adding that expansion into invoice finance sales-linked lending and Sharia-compliant private credit could alter the landscape meaningfully.
The Inma Fund had disbursed approximately OMR215 million to 2061 SME projects by the end of April 2026 according to its chief executive Sheikh Salah bin Hilal Al-Ma’awali. Al-Ma’awali said the fund was established to reinforce the SME sector’s contribution to a diversified sustainable economy through an integrated framework of financial support regulation training and partnership development. These measures advance core objectives of Oman Vision 2040 by fostering entrepreneurship employment and private-sector participation in non-oil activities.
The Development Bank reported that its portfolio of loans to small enterprises exceeded OMR100 million by September 2025 after supporting more than 20000 projects spanning production and service sectors in every governorate. Chairman Mahmood al Aweini described small enterprises as a core driver of entrepreneurship and job creation adding that the bank offers interest-free loans covering up to 90 percent of costs for full-time operators together with flexible grace periods tied to project cash flows. Such initiatives from both traditional and alternative providers are reinforcing SME capacity amid the sultanate’s ongoing economic transformation.
