ZIG Finance Launches zEMS Vault with Laser Digital as the Risk Framework Advisor, Bringing Saudi SME Private Credit Onchain for Institutional Investors

● The first product from the ZIG Finance-Laser Digital strategic partnership targets a $100m raise and brings diversified Saudi SME private credit to institutional investors, tokenized through KAIO on the BNB Chain.

● The Vault provides exposure to a diversified pool of Saudi SME private credit originated through Beehive’s established lending infrastructure, with Laser Digital supporting the design of the risk governance framework and providing tokenization advisory.

● The structure establishes a scalable framework combining local credit origination, institutional risk governance, compliant tokenization and onchain distribution, with further products already in the pipeline and expansion into additional markets and credit strategies underway.

DUBAI, 11 November, 2026: ZIG Finance today announced the launch of the zEMS Vault, the first product delivered through its strategic partnership with Laser Digital, Nomura’s digital assets subsidiary. Laser Digital will act as the Risk Framework Advisor for this Vault which brings access to institutional-grade Saudi SME private credit on the BNB chain with subscription and redemption available in stablecoins.

Emerging-market private credit can offer attractive returns, but institutional investors need more than access to yield. They need disciplined underwriting, portfolio construction, and risk governance around that exposure. The zEMS onchain strategy, which is targeting a raise of $100 million, brings those disciplines together in a single structure, giving investors exposure to a diversified pool of Saudi SME private credit originated through Beehive’s established lending infrastructure.

Laser Digital supports the design of the risk governance framework and provides tokenization advisory, while Zamanat serves as the structuring partner and Sharia advisory, and ZIG Markets provides the product issuance, curation distribution layer, bringing the opportunity to BNB Chain.

“Saudi Arabia has a deep and growing SME lending market, but accessing that opportunity at institutional scale requires a different level of discipline around how credit risk is selected, structured and managed,” said Abdul Rafay Gadit, Co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer of ZIG Finance. “That is what we set out to achieve with the zEMS Vault. Beehive brings the local origination and lending expertise, Zamanat brings the structuring expertise, while Laser Digital brings institutional expertise in risk framework design and tokenization advisory. The aim isn’t to remove credit risk. It’s to make that risk transparent and manageable, so institutional investors can get comfortable with an asset class they may not otherwise be able to access at scale. We see this Vault as a way to open a deeper pool of institutional capital to Saudi private credit, with the potential to build on that model across other emerging markets.”

“Saudi SME lending is one part of a much larger GCC private credit opportunity that onchain markets can tap into,” said Dr. Jez Mohideen, Co-founder & CEO, Laser Digital. “Capturing it at institutional scale depends on getting the structure right: how the product is tokenized, who can access it, and how it is administered. Building that structure requires frameworks that institutions can trust and sign off on, and that is where we have focused through our partnership with ZIG Finance. The launch of this Vault is the first product built on that work, and an early test of whether private credit can be brought onchain in a form institutions can approve.”

KAIO, Laser Digital and WebN’s tokenization platform, provides the infrastructure for tokenization, compliance and lifecycle management of the Vault, including KYC enforcement at subscription and redemption. This supports the compliant issuance, administration and redemption of the tokenized investment product throughout its lifecycle.

Beehive joins the structure as the originating partner, bringing its established and regulated SME lending infrastructure and experience across the GCC. The structure is also expected to include Khalij as the Sharia certification partner, with an independent calculation agent to be appointed separately.

Together these capabilities provide the technological and operational infrastructure to bring private credit onchain within an institutional framework, from issuance through to redemption.

As the first product milestone from the strategic partnership between ZIG Finance and Laser Digital, this initiative contributes to a broader effort targeting a minimum $100 million TVL target across multiple product rollouts.

“Saudi Arabia’s ambitions for its private sector depend on growing businesses having access to the capital they need," said Umair Tariq, CEO, Zamanat. "At Zamanat, our role is to structure a credible route for international investors to participate in that growth. Working with Beehive, Laser Digital and ZIG Finance, we are connecting local lending expertise with the investment structures and distribution needed to bring Saudi SME credit to a wider investor base. Our ambition is to make this a repeatable source of financing for Saudi businesses and an established part of global private credit portfolios.”

“Saudi SME private credit shows how tokenisation can connect local financing opportunities with global institutional capital,” said Shrey Rastogi, CEO of KAIO. “KAIO provides the infrastructure to bring this Vault onchain, with compliance and lifecycle management built in from subscription through to redemption. Together with ZIG Finance and Laser Digital, we are establishing a repeatable model for bringing new markets and credit strategies onchain.”

The launch establishes a scalable framework for bringing emerging-market private credit onchain to eligible investors in eligible jurisdictions. This architecture can be applied across additional markets and credit strategies, combining local origination with institutional risk governance, compliant tokenization and broader distribution.

Further opportunities across the region and asset classes are already under consideration.

The launch adds to ZIG Finance’s growing pipeline of institutional investment products and demonstrates how its infrastructure can support the development and distribution of regulated, institutional-grade investment opportunities onchain.

Disclaimer: The Vault does not guarantee returns and does not confer direct ownership of the underlying assets. Credit risk remains tied to the underlying SME borrowers. An investment in zEMS involves significant risk, including the risk of loss of your entire investment. zEMS is not a deposit, is not principal-protected, and is not guaranteed or insured by any government, deposit insurance scheme, ZIG Finance, ZIG Markets, Zamanat, Beehive, KAIO, Laser Digital, Nomura, or any other party. You are invited to read and review the Risk Warnings set out in the dedicated investment documentation. The product is accessible by eligible institutional investors residing in selected eligible jurisdictions.

- ENDS -

ZIG Finance is the onchain finance ecosystem built to bring institutional finance opportunities onchain, open to everyone, everywhere. The ecosystem spans ZIG Chain, an institutional-grade Layer 1, ZIG Markets, its commercial distribution layer, and $ZIG, its native digital asset. Capital markets onchain. Open to everyone. For more information, please visit: ZIG.finance

The zEMS vault is issued by a segregated portfolio of ZM Structured Products SPC Limited (BVI Company No. 2217885), a segregated portfolio company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. Merritt Administrators (Pty) Ltd (Reg. No. 2013/189063/07), trading as ZIG Finance, is an authorized financial services provider regulated by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority of South Africa (FSP No. 46517) and acts as curator of the vault.

Laser Digital is a full-service digital asset firm specializing in Trading, Asset Management, Solutions, and Early-Stage Investing. Nomura established Laser Digital to provide new value in digital assets to its clients, bridging traditional and crypto markets. We are positioned uniquely in the market, combining institutional-grade framework and risk management. Laser Digital is regulated by VARA and ADGM’s FSRA, as well as registered with Japan’s JFSA.

- For more information: www.laserdigital.com

- For media inquiries: [email protected] | [email protected]

This is a marketing communication intended for professional investors in eligible jurisdictions only. It does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Forecasts are not reliable indicators of future performance. Capital is at risk. Please consult the relevant terms and conditions before making any investment decisions.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Unless otherwise indicated, Laser Digital activities contemplated above are not provided pursuant to any relevant license and do not constitute investment advice, portfolio management, or any other regulated activity. No participant is, or shall be deemed to be, a client of Laser Digital for any purpose. Access to the markets/products referred to above shall not be available to persons in any jurisdiction in which such access or distribution would be prohibited or restricted by law. In particular, none of the products and/or activities described above are available to, and no services are provided to, US Persons (as defined under Regulation S of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended) or persons located in, or residents of, the United States, Canada, or Australia or any Restricted Jurisdiction (as defined from time to time under the relevant terms of services).

In respect of the products and/or markets referred to above, neither Laser Digital nor any Nomura Group affiliate:

(i) guarantee, underwrite, or provide any form of credit support, indemnity, or surety;

(ii) guarantee, warrant, or represent (whether expressly, impliedly, or otherwise) the performance, profitability, yield, safety, solvency, or return of any investment or transaction.

Laser Digital has not reviewed, assessed or assigned any credit or risk rating to any underlying loan or borrower; its role has been limited to supporting ZIG Finance in the design of ZIG Finance's own risk framework and of the proposed tokenization and issuance structure, and responsibility for credit selection and risk management remains solely with ZIG Finance and the relevant originator.

Capital invested in or deployed to any smart contract is at risk. The value of digital assets and tokenised instruments is highly volatile and may decline significantly, including to zero.

For full disclosure: https://laserdigital.com/marketing-disclaimer/

Specific disclosures and risk disclaimer shall be available for each smart contract involving Laser Digital.

Zamanat is building the global market for Digital Shariah Assets. Based in Abu Dhabi Global Market, the company connects asset originators with global capital through investment structuring, Shariah expertise, regulated partner routes, tokenisation and distribution across traditional and digital channels. Zmanat also sponsors and develops institutional investment products through appropriately licensed partners. Each product follows its own legal and regulatory framework, subject to product-specific Shariah review.

Zamanat also sponsors and develops institutional investment products through appropriately licensed partners. Each product follows its own legal and regulatory framework and, where presented as Shariah-aligned, its own product-specific Shariah review and governance process. For more information, please visit: www.zamanathq.com

KAIO is building the open infrastructure layer for tokenised real-world assets, bridging traditional finance and DeFi through compliant, auditable and cross-chain architecture. With Tier 1 institutional funds live from leading partners including BlackRock, Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane, Laser Digital and Mubadala Capital, KAIO has transacted over US $500million in volume across more than 10 blockchains. Alongside a growing network of asset managers, distributors and ecosystem partners, KAIO is positioned at the centre of the US $30 trillion tokenised-asset opportunity. Purpose-built for regulated fund tokenisation and lifecycle management, KAIO enables institutional-grade assets to move onchain securely, compliantly and at scale. Its infrastructure supports seamless distribution, transfer controls, reporting and interoperability across leading blockchain ecosystems, helping make private markets and other institutional investment products more accessible to qualified institutional and accredited investors

For more information about KAIO and important regulatory and legal information, visit https://www.kaio.xyz/disclaimers.

Founded in 2014, Beehive is the first peer-to-peer lending platform in the MENA region to be regulated by the DFSA. Headquartered in Dubai, Beehive connects businesses seeking finance with investors willing to support their growth, offering a faster, more affordable funding option for SMEs. Through technology and a commitment to supporting regional businesses, Beehive has become a trusted partner for SMEs across the GCC. Learn more at https://www.beehiveplatform.com/ or https://www.beehive.ae/

In the UAE, Beehive P2P Limited is regulated by the DFSA. In Oman, Beehive Financial Technology SPC is regulated by the FSA. In KSA, Beehive Saudi for Technology and Information Systems Company is subject to regulatory approval.