Islamic fintech startup Wafr has announced a pre-seed funding round and the launch of WafrChain, a blockchain-based platform designed to tokenize Sharia-compliant sukuk, marking its first step toward building a global Islamic financial ecosystem.
The funding round includes angel investments from Coen Jonker, co-founder of Tyme Group, and Neal Cross, former Chief Innovation Officer at DBS Bank, supporting Wafr’s ambition to develop institutional infrastructure for Islamic finance.
WafrChain Targets Sukuk Market Digitization
WafrChain brings sukuk issuance, distribution, settlement, and profit payments together on a single institutional platform powered by a private, permissioned blockchain network.
The platform is designed to address operational challenges in traditional sukuk issuance, which typically involves multiple parties, including issuers, arrangers, trustees, custodians, distributors, and investors. Fragmented records and manual processes often increase costs, introduce operational risks, and extend issuance timelines.
WafrChain records financial instrument terms and issuer-specific Sharia board approvals on-chain before distribution.
It also supports settlement through local currencies and stablecoins, with integration capabilities for existing financial systems through application programming interfaces (APIs).
Global Sukuk Issuance Reaches $291.4 Billion in 2025
WafrChain enters a growing Islamic finance market. Global Islamic finance assets reached $6.5 trillion in 2025, increasing 9% year over year, according to the Islamic Finance Development Report 2026 published by the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).
Outstanding sukuk reached $1.14 trillion, while annual sukuk issuance grew 14.5% to $291.4 billion, highlighting expanding demand for Sharia-compliant financing instruments.
From Sukuk Tokenization to a Global Islamic Financial Platform
Wafr plans to expand its institutional offering beyond sukuk to include tokenized funds, deposits, trade finance, and corporate settlements.
Its consumer roadmap includes global accounts, cross-border transfers, cards, financing products, and wealth management services. Agentic AI and stablecoin-enabled settlement are also expected to play a role in its broader technology strategy.
The company aims to expand access to financial services for underserved and unbanked communities while developing products designed around Islamic finance principles and accessible to customers regardless of religious background.
Can Blockchain Unlock the Next Phase of Islamic Finance
WafrChain represents an early commercial test of blockchain infrastructure in a market increasingly seeking operational efficiency and broader access to capital.
The platform’s growth will depend on attracting financial institutions, sukuk issuers, distributors, and investors, alongside meeting regulatory and Sharia compliance requirements across its target markets.
By bringing issuance, distribution, settlement, and profit payments into a unified digital infrastructure, Wafr is positioning itself to help transform Islamic finance from traditionally fragmented processes into a more scalable global financial ecosystem.
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