ZIGChain, Beehive partner to bring UAE SME credit Onchain
Orisemeke Benjamin
ZIGChain, the blockchain built to bring regulated investment products onchain for institutions and everyday users, today announced a strategic partnership with Beehive, the Middle East’s pioneering digital SME lending platform, to explore the tokenization of private credit opportunities on ZIGChain’s network.
The partnership marks a significant step in bringing regulated UAE-based SME private credit on-chain, enabling institutional-grade real-world yield products and expanding access to transparent, programmable private credit markets. As part of the initiative, the companies will jointly assess the issuance, distribution and on-chain servicing workflows required to structure compliant, tokenized credit exposure.
“Teaming up with Beehive marks a meaningful milestone for both of us,” said Abdul Rafay Gadit, Co-founder and Head of Global Markets of ZIGChain. “They’ve built real credibility and a proven track record in SME lending across the GCC, and when you pair that with our blockchain infrastructure, designed for real-world assets, it opens the door to bringing private credit onchain in a way that actually works and scales.”
ZIGChain is steadily building out its private credit origination pipeline across the GCC as part of a wider push toward institutional real-world asset tokenization. The current initiative includes operational pilots and does not constitute a public fund launch, yield guarantee, or retail lending product.
“Beehive was built as a digital-first private credit platform and has demonstrated its ability to originate, underwrite and service SME funding at scale. Our evolution from P2P funding to institutional capital strengthened the depth and stability of our funding base.
“Tokenization represents the next phase of market development, expanding access and deepening the market for high-quality private credit.
“We believe this opportunity must be pursued within a regulated framework and with trusted infrastructure partners to maintain strong discipline around risk and governance. We are excited to work with ZigChain to support this next stage of growth,” said Peter Tavener, CEO and Co-Founder of Beehive.
Both ZIGChain and Beehive emphasized that the partnership does not imply regulatory approvals beyond existing frameworks and does not guarantee returns. Credit risk remains fully tied to underlying borrowers.
This partnership contributes to ZIGChain’s growth trajectory in the real-world asset ecosystem and provides a meaningful proof point for financial institutions evaluating blockchain-based private credit issuance. For Beehive, it represents a natural next step in its evolution as a digital-first SME private credit platform, exploring new ways to expand market access while maintaining disciplined underwriting within a regulated framework.
