The United Nations has reported that hundreds of Yazidi women have been systematically kidnapped, raped, used as sex slaves and forced to marry Daesh fighters.
Since starting the project in January, Mr Maman has been dubbed the "Jewish Schindler", although he rejected the comparison, saying Oskar Schindler's efforts to save hundreds of Jews from the Nazis was on a different scale altogether.
"There's no point in giving me a title that I don't deserve or doesn't belong to me," he said.
However, he added that there was a similarity between the global lack of response to the plight of the Yazidis and other minority groups under Daesh and the Jews during the Second World War.
"The world does not care, the same way they didn't care from 1939 to 1945. People for six years were just spectators of our people getting slaughtered, well, today it's been one year [since the Yazidis were captured] and people are spectators again of people being slaughtered."
Born in Morocco, Mr Maman grew up in Canada and lives in Montreal. He travels to the Middle East frequently and said he uses his extensive contacts to negotiate the release of women and children.
According to CYCI, it costs $1,000-$3,000 (£630-£1,900) to free a hostage from Daesh control.
Although some have criticised Mr Maman's tactics, saying he is funding terrorists by paying for the hostages' release, the CYCI founder said his only focus was saving the lives of the women and children in captivity: "Oskar Schindler liberated 1,200 Jews from the hand of the Nazis. He didn't pay the Chinese, he paid the Nazis, and he got these Jews out."
He added: "The Talmud says one who saves a life saves a world. It doesn't say one who saves a Jewish life, it doesn't say one who saves a Christian life, it talks about a life."
