Leading crowdfunding platform operator to launch EthisX in Oman

BUSINESS REPORTER

Ethical investment and social finance platform operator, Ethis Group, will be launching EthisX as part of its global expansion plan. Approved by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) – the Sultanate of Oman’s regulator and supervisor of the capital market and insurance sector – EthisX is managed by Ethis Investment Platform LLC based out of Muscat, the Sultanate of Oman, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

EthisX is unique in that it acts as a first-of-its-kind cross-border Ethical Private Capital Marketplace able to offer direct shariah-compliant investments into SME companies and special purpose vehicle (SPV) projects from around the globe.

Mohamed Shehzad bin Mohamed Islam, Chief Executive Officer of Ethis Investment Platform LLC (EIP) said, “We are committed to working alongside Oman CMA towards a successful global cross-border marketplace. With the approval of CMA, companies from inside and outside Oman can apply to raise funding. This, in turn, allows global investors access to shariah-compliant, impactful and sustainable investments in emerging and developed markets like never before.”

He added, “EthisX will be rolled out in geographical phases starting with Oman. The platform allows companies to raise funds through equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-2-peer (P2P) financing that includes sukuk and micro-sukuk. For P2P, EthisX is focusing on invoice financing, asset-backed financing, working capital financing, and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) financing. ECF issuances will focus on startups and growth companies particularly in the tech sector”.

Amran Mohd, Chairman of EIP, commented, “Oman is a bridge between emerging regions with the potential to extend to other parts of the world, and has great potential to be an emerging regional hub for Islamic finance and fintech. As the regulator and supervisor of the capital market and insurance sector in Oman, we value CMA’s acceptance of EthisX as a platform that curates the capital marketplace. We aim to have EthisX become a valuable contributor towards realising Oman’s Vision 2040, which emphasises the country’s economic development that is anchored to Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

For the Group, EthisX as our next step forward makes the best strategic business sense as Ethis is amongst the early adopters of crowdfunding as an investment marketplace and is an Islamic fintech proponent,”

“EthisX will be leveraging on the immediate transaction volume from other Ethis platforms,

targeting to grow transaction value per month by at least 10 times from current by Q4 2022. We want to push our market expansion plan through EthisX as aggressively as possible, and we would like to express our gratitude towards Oman CMA for believing in our vision and execution ability,” added Mohamed Shehzad.

Umar Munshi, Co-Founder and Group MD of Ethis Group elaborated, “As one of the pioneers of shariah-compliant crowdfunding, Ethis not only has proof of concept but also substantial

experience and knowledge through the management of its platforms which prioritise deals with social impact so that the community can enjoy the benefits of their investments. As a testimony to that, we are humbled and further motivated to do better when Ethis Group was recently awarded the Best Islamic Crowdfunding Platform in the World 2021 by the Awards Committee of the Islamic Retail Banking Awards (IRBA) based on the efficiency model developed by Cambridge IFA.”