EthisX’s first P2P crowdfunding campaign features Oman’s tailor chain

@JmObserver -

EthisX, part of Ethis Group, has launched its first peer-2-peer (P2P) crowdfunding campaign in the Sultanate for Oman for Al-Naamani, one of the oldest tailor chains in the country. The campaign, which hopes to raise RO 100,000, will run for one year and is expected to fund the expansion of Al-Naamani’s business through the purchase and direct import of filament and spun fabric from Indonesia, Korea and Japan.

Mazin Humaid Khalfan al Mahruqi, CEO of Mazin Humaid Al Mahruqi Trading LLC, who fully acquired the Al-Naamani tailor business in 2021, said: “EthisX has a flexible financing scheme that fits our business requirements. The team is incredibly sharp and analytical, and their due diligence and risk analysis process was thorough, particularly on the specificity required for each campaign. It is truly an honour to be the first campaign launched on the EthisX platform, and as a local company, I hope our campaign will resonate well with fellow Omani investors.”

Investors can join with just RO 250, and gain a competitive ROI (return on investment) of 10 per cent. “We have high hopes for this campaign, and we see it as an avenue for Omanis who would like to contribute back to the MSME ecosystem in the Sultanate of Oman,” Al Mahruqi added. Al-Naamani recorded an annual revenue of more than RO 300,000 in 2021 despite the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first-of-its-kind cross-border Ethical Private Capital Marketplace, EthisX offers direct shariah-compliant investments into SME companies and special purpose vehicle (SPV) projects from Oman around the globe. EthisX crowdfunding platform, launched in Oman on June 23, 2022, allows companies to raise funds through equity crowdfunding (ECF) and peer-2-peer financing that includes sukukl and micro-sukuk. Approved by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), EthisX is managed by Ethis Investment Platform LLC based out of Muscat and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Riza Ismail, Chief Operating Officer of EthisX said, “For EthisX, we are fully focused on bringing in new sources of capital into Oman by tapping on local Omani investors but more importantly our global base of investors from more than 80 countries,”

“Through EthisX, we are well-positioned to support Omani businesses attract sizable FDI to enable the country to move on a new path of development based on investments, production and exports that will help the country in dealing with its two greatest challenges: economic diversification and job creation, in the post-pandemic era,” she said.

On the other hand, Dr Yousuf Hamed al Balushi, Chief Economist of the Oman Vision 2040, said, “The need for new sources of capital aligns with Oman vision 2040 and this calls for a change in key elements and factors that determine the future growth of businesses in Oman, including capital, and this can be obtained from foreign direct investments and local private sources.

Established in 1979, Al-Naamani is one of the oldest tailor chains in the Sultanate of Oman. It provides made-to-measure tailoring and ready-to-wear for the formal and casual Omani menswear, the dishdasha similar to a thobe, and which is obligatory to be worn in all official places, and culturally, also worn daily. Al-Naamani has a total of 30 branches spread across the Sultanate of Oman, covering major cities. They also sell their ready-made dishdashas to some prominent hypermarkets in the Sultanate of Oman.