Dubai-based fintech specialist Wafr has announced securing an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round, with participation from prominent angel investors, including Coen Yunker, Co-founder of Tyme Group, and Neil Cross, former Chief Innovation Officer at DBS Bank. Coinciding with the funding announcement, the company revealed the launch of its "WafrChain" platform, which relies on blockchain technology to organize the issuance, distribution, and settlement of Sukuk in a fully digital manner.
Automating Sukuk Issuance via Blockchain Technology
Sukuk are complex Islamic finance instruments that typically require strenuous coordination between eight separate parties, including the issuer, the trustee, the arrangers, the Sharia board, custodians, the payment agent, and the distributors. These processes often rely on manual processing, leading to delays lasting months and increasing operational risks and additional costs.
To solve these challenges, WafrChain was designed as a private, permissioned blockchain network to connect participating institutions via a shared ledger. The platform pre-registers the instrument's terms, unit price, profit distribution schedule, maturity date, and Sharia board approvals. The platform relies on smart contracts to direct profit payments, with the possibility of completing settlement using local currencies via Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) systems or the SWIFT network, or by using stablecoins.
Operational Capabilities and Future Roadmap
The platform has achieved an infrastructure that meets the confidentiality and speed requirements of financial institutions; transactions achieve finality within 300 milliseconds, ensuring transaction confidentiality for each participant individually, while maintaining business continuity even if only one-third of the nodes are operational. The company is led by a founding team including Mahmoud Bouchleif as CEO and Anthony Murphy as Chief Product Officer.
- Tokenization of funds, tokenized deposits, and trade finance.
- Managing inter-company settlements and supporting international accounts.
- Developing retail services such as cross-border transfers and payment cards, subject to regulatory approvals.
Why Does This News Matter?
This launch comes at a time when Islamic finance markets are witnessing significant growth, with global Islamic finance assets reaching $6.5 trillion in 2025, and the value of outstanding Sukuk reaching $1.14 trillion according to specialized reports. Utilizing blockchain technology in the structuring and settlement of Sukuk represents a practical step toward reducing operational complexity and lowering the time-related costs suffered by traditional Islamic debt markets.