Located in the southeastern Arabian Peninsula, Oman is Sultanate that borders the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Historically reliant on oil and gas, the country is actively diversifying its economy to create sustainable growth and reduce dependence on hydrocarbons.

This transformation is guided by Oman Vision 2040, a development program first announced in 2020 and which seeks to achieve diversification across the economy, society, and culture for the period of 2021-2040.

Central to this plan is the imperative of building a knowledge, technology-driven economy. In practice, this means investing in digital infrastructure, encouraging research and development (R&D), and rolling out major reforms to fuel private-sector growth and foreign investment.

For example, a new Foreign Capital Investment Law came into force in 2020, relaxing the rules and restrictions on foreign investment, streamlining the registration and licensing processing for foreign investors, and aligning foreign investors’ rights and incentives to those given to local investors.

In the financial services sector, the establishment of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in 2024 replaced the former Capital Market Authority, expanding regulatory oversight beyond capital markets to enhance the resilience, transparency, and attractiveness of the Omani financial sector.

Most recently, in January 2026, the government approved the establishment of the Oman Global Financial Centre (OGFC), further stimulating innovation in financial services and drawing additional foreign investment.

Oman’s startup ecosystem

Oman Vision 2040 also earmarks advanced technologies as a pillar of national development, targeting a 10% contribution of the tech sector to GDP by 2040. In particular, the country is heavily investing in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, 5G infrastructure, and digital public services, with major projects that include the AI Economies initiatives, the OL-1 satellite, a US$5.16 billion semiconductor program, and a US$3.2 billion investment package for cryptocurrency mining centers powered by renewable energy.

Alongside these advancements, Oman is actively cultivating a strong ecosystem of research and entrepreneurship. New government-led programs are funding research and commercialization of ideas​, while innovation centers, accelerators and incubators are being launched in partnership with higher education institutions to support innovators and entrepreneurs.

Aspiring young entrepreneurs receive support via financing initiatives and training programs, often co-sponsored by the government and the industry​. They can also leverage partnerships between academia and the private sector to scale and commercialize their ventures.

These efforts are bearing fruit, with a burgeoning startup scene emerging in Oman’s capital city of Muscat. According to state-led media outlet Oman Observer, the country is now home to 205 tech startups with a combined value of US$395 million.

The ecosystem is also demonstrating strong activity across multiple indicators. These include:

• Approximately 30,000 annual beneficiaries of initiatives promoting startup culture;
• 50 camps and hackathons annually;
• 3,000 registered startup project ideas;
• 310 student projects in innovation and technology;
• 300 events, workshops, training camps, knowledge sessions, games, stories and entrepreneurial education competitions;
• 30 business incubators and innovation centers;
• 10 business accelerators;
• 32 government incentives and facilities activated for startups;
• seven crowdfunding platforms dedicated to startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and
• 11 venture capital (VC) funds focused on startups and SMEs.

Fintech emerges as a hot vertical in Oman

Within the Omani tech scene, fintech is one of the largest and most dynamic verticals. The sector comprises 42 ventures, giving it a share of 20.5% of all startups in Oman, according to the Oman Observer. This underscores the growing importance of fintech in the local tech scene.

In 2025 alone, 16 new fintech licenses were approved, with a further 52 applications being currently under review by the Central Bank of Oman (CBO), indicating accelerating growth.

An analysis of the 40+ existing fintech companies in Oman reveals that the largest vertical is payment, which account for 22% of all firms. This reflects the national priority to drive transactional ease and adoption of digital wallets.

A notable payment company from Oman is Thawani Technologies. Founded in 2016, Thawani Technologies provides a popular digital payments app and mobile wallet. The company was ranked among Forbes Middle East’s Top 50 Fintech Companies in 2025 and 2024.

Payment is closely followed by three equally significant segments, each claiming 19%: personal finance, digital payments and point-of-sale (PoS) solutions, and trading and crowdfunding. This distribution highlights a concerted effort to shift financial habits towards digital platforms, deepen financial inclusion, and democratize access to investment products.

Notable startups in these categories include Wadiaa, a platform which facilitates funding via equity participation and lending; and Mamun, a trade finance platform connecting businesses in need of short-term financing with a community of investors seeking Sharia-compliant opportunities.

Fintech as a top focus in Oman

Oman’s fintech market has been growing at an annual growth rate of 16%, according to the Oman Observer, reaching an estimated valuation of OMR 1.1 billion in 2025. Central to this growth is the CBO, which has advanced the ecosystem through several key initiatives:

• The Fintech Innovation Hub, a dedicated space providing resources, mentorship, networking opportunities, and regulatory support to startups, entrepreneurs, and established companies working on fintech solutions;
• The Fintech Regulatory Sandbox (FRS), which allows industry stakeholders to live test new products or services in a controlled and test regulatory environment; and
• The Accelerator Program, a six-month program launched in 2022 in partnership with OmanTel to support promising fintech startups in Oman. Graduates include Wadiaa, Tasheel, a buy now, pay later (BNPL) company, and Zumr, a company that uses smart algorithms to modernize traditional savings circuits.

Most recently, the CBO issued the Regulatory Framework for Licensing Digital Banks, a set of rules and requirements governing the licensing and supervision of digital banks in the Sultanate. Effective June 01, 2025, the framework introduces regulatory relaxations, certain business restrictions, and a list of requirements.

First, applicants must be either a locally incorporated joint-stock company or a branch of a foreign bank that is subject to regulatory oversight in its home jurisdiction. They must demonstrated experience in the fintech industry, have a clearly articulated business plan, and possess the financial capacity to establish a digital bank.

Digital banks must also establish a physical presence in Oman either as its principal place of business or, in the case of a foreign branch, as a registered office. They must comply with all applicable laws and frameworks, including those related to anti-money laundering and terrorism financing (AML/CFT) in a fully digitalized environment, financial consumer protection, cybersecurity and resilience, digital onboarding and electronic know-your-customer (KYC), anti-fraud measures, and outsourcing rules, including the use of cloud services.

The framework defines two types of digital bank licenses: Category 1 permits banking operations without business limitations and requires a minimum paid-up capital of OMR 30 million (US$78 million); Category 2 allows limited operations and requires a minimum paid-up capital of OMR 10 million (US$26 million).

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Middle East, based on image by stockexpert and michaelkenya via Freepik