SmartCrowd, a Dubai-based property investment fintech, has sold a majority stake to Nawy, a growing real estate technology company from Egypt. The deal comes at a time when digital and innovative property investment methods are gaining popularity across the GCC.
SmartCrowd allows individuals to invest in real estate through fractional ownership. This means investors can buy small shares in properties and earn returns based on rental income and price growth. Dubai’s real estate sector is also seeing growing interest in tokenized property investments, where smaller investors can own portions of properties via blockchain-based platforms approved by the Dubai Land Department.
“This is a major step forward for SmartCrowd,” said Riz Ahmed, CEO of SmartCrowd. “Teaming up with Nawy helps us move from being a startup to a larger, more established business. Together, we aim to become the leading platform for real estate investment in the Middle East.”
A Pioneer in Fractional Ownership in Dubai
Founded in 2018, SmartCrowd was one of the first platforms in Dubai to offer fractional ownership. So far, it has facilitated $110 million worth of property transactions and distributed $40 million in rental income and capital gains. As of June, the company has successfully exited over 50 properties.
One of its standout services, called Flip, focuses on buying and renovating undervalued properties, then reselling them within 15 months. This has delivered an average return of 30%.
Nawy’s Ambition to Lead Regional Proptech
The acquisition supports Nawy’s goal to become a top proptech company in the Middle East and Africa. Earlier this year, Nawy raised $52 million in a Series A funding round, which included investment from UAE-based e& Capital.
The funding is part of a $75 million plan to grow its services in areas like online property listings, mortgage solutions, brokerage, and fractional ownership.
Earlier this year, Nawy also acquired asset management and home finishing company ROA, which it relaunched as “Nawy Unlocked” to strengthen its offering and move closer to becoming a full-featured real estate super-app.
Nawy now serves over 1 million monthly users and handles a gross merchandise value of $3 billion.
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