Saudi small business lending is moving onchain: ZIG Finance has launched the zEMS Vault on BNB Chain, with Laser Digital, the digital asset arm of Nomura, acting as risk framework and tokenization advisor.

The vault targets a $100 million raise and gives eligible institutional investors exposure to a diversified pool of Saudi SME loans originated through Beehive.

Investors subscribe and redeem in stablecoins, with KYC checks at both entry and exit. KAIO handles tokenization and administration over the vault's lifecycle, while Zamanat structures the investment and provides Sharia advisory.

zEMS is the first product of the ZIG Finance and Laser Digital partnership, and the two plan to reuse the structure for other emerging markets and credit strategies. The vault does not remove credit risk: investors still carry the default risk of the underlying SME loans.