Ajman Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding with digital financing marketplace Numou to explore new Shariah-compliant funding channels for small and medium-sized enterprises across the United Arab Emirates.
The agreement covers possible cooperation in procurement and invoice financing, working-capital facilities, business account opening and digitally embedded financing. It also allows the two organizations to examine connecting their systems through application programming interfaces, or APIs.
The memorandum establishes a framework under which the bank and Numou can evaluate potential products, technical connections and customer journeys.
A Framework, Not a Product Launch
Ajman Bank said the proposed collaboration would seek to simplify access to Islamic financing and improve customer onboarding. The parties also plan to consider joint engagement with businesses and other participants in the UAE’s SME ecosystem.
Procurement financing could help a business meet the costs of delivering an awarded contract, while invoice financing generally allows it to obtain funding against money owed by customers. Working-capital facilities serve a wider purpose, helping companies manage shorter-term expenses and differences between incoming revenue and outgoing payments.
Mohamed Al Binali, general manager of Numou, said: “Our collaboration with Ajman Bank represents an important step towards making Shari'ah-compliant financing more accessible and seamless for SMEs across the UAE. By combining digital innovation with trusted banking expertise, we aim to simplify the financing journey for businesses, enabling them to access the capital they need to grow, innovate, and contribute to the UAE's economic development.”
Linking Bank Services with a Digital Marketplace
Numou is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Global Market, the international financial center in the UAE capital. Its digital marketplace connects SMEs seeking finance with participating financial institutions and other funding providers, while financing decisions and agreements remain the responsibility of the relevant lender.
ADGM launched Numou in November 2023 to bring business information, financing applications and lender assessment into a digital marketplace. The platform was designed to collect company data from multiple sources and organize it in a form that participating financiers could use when assessing an application.
At launch, RAKBANK, Al Maryah Community Bank and Commercial Bank International planned to make available a combined $59.9 million (AED 220 million) through the platform, ADGM said. That historical figure relates to Numou’s original group of participating banks and should not be treated as a funding commitment by Ajman Bank under the new memorandum.
Numou has since expanded the types of financing activity connected to its marketplace. In November 2025, it introduced a procurement-financing initiative aimed at linking businesses holding government or corporate contracts with potential funding providers. The Ajman Bank agreement brings procurement financing into a broader discussion that also includes invoices, working capital, account services and embedded finance.
Financing Access Remains a Wider SME Issue
Access to suitable credit remains an important issue because smaller businesses account for a large share of commercial activity in the UAE. The Ministry of Economy and Tourism has reported that SMEs represent 95% of businesses and employ around 86% of the private-sector workforce. The sector also contributed 63.5% of the country’s non-oil GDP in 2022
Their economic weight has not always translated into a comparable share of bank financing. An ADGM announcement published in January 2025, citing Central Bank data available at the time, said SME lending represented 9.5% of cumulative financial facilities provided to the UAE’s commercial and industrial sectors. Differences in company records, credit histories, collateral and lender requirements can complicate financing assessments, particularly for younger businesses.
Digital marketplaces can reduce administrative friction by giving applicants a more standardized way to submit information and connect with financing providers. Applications remain subject to each lender’s assessment, eligibility requirements and routine verification procedures, and access to the platform does not guarantee approval.
Ajman Bank’s involvement adds an Islamic bank to Numou’s developing network and creates a channel through which Shariah-compliant products could be integrated into digital business-financing journeys.
The next material development would be the announcement of a specific product, confirmed funding capacity, eligibility criteria or a launch timetable.
