The Capital Market Authority (CMA) has issued a decision licensing Beehive Technologies as the Sultanate of Oman’s second crowdfunding platform for a period of three years.
Dubai-based Beehive is a Peer to Peer (P2P) financing firm licensed for the same activity in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Crowdfunding platforms are innovative financing tools employing fintech to allow entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium enterprises access to financing. There are four types of crowdfunding platforms namely donations, equity, reward or peer to peer financing, the latter is applied by Beehive through issuance of investment notes (convertible and negotiable).
CMA issued the regulation for crowdfunding as part of the national priorities of the Oman Vision 2040 and the rules are flexible enough and exempted the licensees from the fees until January 2023.
Crowdfunding platforms furnish access for financiers and investors from inside and outside the Sultanate of Oman through the platforms. Financing is restricted to commercial enterprises not individuals who are allowed only as investors and financiers for the projects offered in the platform according to the terms and conditions stipulated in the regulation.
Earlier this year, Malaysia-based Ethis Group became the first crowdfunding platform to receive a license to operate in the Sultanate of Oman.
