Maalexi secures $20m Shariah-compliant facility from Amwal Capital, boosting GCC food security

Maalexi, a UAE-based B2B food and agriculture platform, has secured a shariah-compliant credit facility of up to $20 million from Amwal Capital Partners (ACP) to expand its operations and strengthen regional food security.

The agreement begins with an initial $5 million tranche and will support Maalexi’s plans to scale its technology-driven platform, enabling thousands of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to participate in cross-border food and agri-trade.

Dr. Azam Pasha, CEO of Maalexi said that the financing will accelerate the deployment of AI, IoT, and blockchain technologies to improve risk intelligence, trackability, and secure documentation in food trade.

The fully tech-enabled structure is collateralised against Maalexi’s inventory and receivables in UAE warehouses and designed to monitor daily risk positions in real time while facilitating swift, small-ticket transactions. Expansion into origin-market procurement is also planned through partnerships with farmer producer organisations and cooperatives.

The UAE imports nearly $24 billion worth of food annually, with 80% re-exported to meet regional demand. Maalexi aims to make SMEs a stronger part of this supply chain by reducing risks related to quality, price, counterparty reliability, and payments, while also investing further in advanced datasets and tokenisation for real-time settlement.