baraka, the DIFC-based investment platform regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority, announced on 14 September 2026 that eligible customers can now invest directly in companies listed on Dubai Financial Market and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange through its app, funded in dirhams. The launch extends baraka’s existing UAE and US securities, options trading, Sharia-compliant products and precious metals offering into local UAE equities, taking its total asset coverage to nearly 10,000 across local and global markets through one account.
How the access works
Local stocks are funded in dirhams and held in the names of baraka customers, who purchase whole shares rather than fractional units. UAE securities are held under the custodianship of Emirates NBD, and eligible investors can receive dividends paid by UAE-listed companies. Investor Number issuance, normally a separate application step for trading UAE-listed stocks, is now handled through baraka’s own onboarding flow. The integration itself is facilitated by Arqaam Capital through a Direct Market Access facility.
The stocks that have attracted the most customer interest so far span real estate, energy, banking and infrastructure: Emaar Properties, ADNOC Gas, ADNOC Distribution, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Salik. By August 2026, the number of baraka customers investing in UAE stocks had grown more than 25 times over from an initial pre-launch pilot.
More than 70% of baraka’s investors are under 35, and its customer base spans more than 100 nationalities. Since local investing went live, 87% of UAE-stock orders have been purchases rather than sales, an early indicator of position-building rather than short-term trading.
Feras Jalbout, founder and chief executiv
e of baraka, said: “The opportunity set in the UAE has expanded dramatically, with the businesses shaping the country’s growth now accessible through its public markets.”
A market that has been deepening underneath the launch
DFM ended June 2026 with a market capitalisation of AED 981.6 billion, after total traded value rose 40.4% year on year to AED 119.5 billion in the first half, adding 42,864 new investors, 71.4% of them international. ADX ended the same period with a market capitalisation of AED 2.8 trillion and total trading volume of 50.3 billion shares, adding more than 30,000 new investors, 77% of them foreign.
Khalifa Rabba, chief operating officer of DFM, said the integration “supports our ongoing efforts to broaden market participation and enhance investor accessibility.”
Omar Alserkal, director of product and market development at ADX, said “it bolsters our commitment to making Abu Dhabi’s capital market more accessible, connected, and responsive to the evolving needs of investors.”
A platform that keeps widening its scope
baraka has expanded outward from a single-market US and ETF investing app since securing DFSA approval, adding options trading, Sharia-compliant products, precious metals and now local UAE equities. The company was founded in 2021, and raised a $20 million Series A led by Valar Ventures, the fund’s first Middle East investment, part of $25 million raised across four rounds to date.
baraka hasn’t disclosed how many customers have signed up specifically for UAE stock access since launch, a timeline for expanding to other GCC exchanges, or further detail on the additional Sharia-compliant products it says it plans to add in the coming months. Whether the 87% buy-order pattern holds up as more customers gain access, rather than reflecting an early, self-selected group, is the detail likely to matter most as the feature scales beyond its first cohort.
