News
New (105)
Capital adequacy of applicants to be assessed on a case-by-case basis
Saudi Arabia's central bank is reviewing licence requests for two digital banks to operate in the kingdom, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) confirmed to Zawya on the phone.
“Work is underway to evaluate these two licence requests,” Yazeed Alsheikh, director for general of banking control at SAMA, was earlier quoted as saying in local daily Aleqtisadiyah.
He added that the policy for granting licenses for digital banks is done through a comprehensive evaluation process that takes into account what added value a provider can bring to the Saudi banking sector.
Earlier this week, SAMA issued licensing guidelines for digital-only banks in Saudi Arabia.
It stipulated that online banks must set up as a locally incorporated joint-stock company and maintain a physical presence in the kingdom.
The Saudi regulator will assess the adequacy of capital of applicants “on a case-by-case basis considering the scale, nature and complexity of the operations,” SAMA said.
source: zawya
Children categories
Start-up (0)
Advisers and investors said that the Foreign Capital Investment Law will contribute to establishing new investment entities and open up investment and employment opportunities in the Sultanate, directly or indirectly.
The new law will help combat illicit trade and regulate the labour market, said observers, noting that the Sultanate’s business infrastructure is now ready to attract investments, with penalties stated in the new law serving as a deterent against fraud.
Ahmed bin Abdulkareem al-Hooti, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) Board Member, said that the Foreign Capital Investment Law is an element among a set of laws that regulate commercial and economic activities, as well as investment in general.
Al-Hooti pointed out that the Foreign Capital Investment Law also functions alongside the Law on Partnership Between Public and Private Sectors, Privatization Law, Investment Law and Bankruptcy Law. This is in addition to the establishment of the Commercial Arbitration Centre, which will help investors in decision making.
Meanwhile, Dr. Yousef bin Hamad al-Balushi, CEO of Investment Smart Portal, said that investment, in general, and foreign investment, in particular, assume great significance in any development process, and this prompts all countries to grab investment opportunities.
He added that there is currently an urgent need to speed up steps towards encouraging and attracting investments, locally and internationally, for a variety of realities dictated by the growing stage, which has almost attained its prime in infrastructure and legislations.
This, in turn, dictates transformation into a new model that is capable of yielding fruits, in terms of major investments, and maximizing benefits from the Sultanate’s preparedness and high status among world countries.
The Foreign Capital Investment Law enables the investor to exclusively own the land of a project or share it with another foreign investor or Omani investor, said Dr.
Adil al-Maqdadi, a former Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), an advocate and legal adviser at the Office of Dr.
Ahmed Said al-Jahwari Legal Consultants. This law has not imposed any bottom-line capital for his company, unlike the previous law, which imposes a minimum of RO15,000 for approaching an investment venture.
source: omannews
View items...
VUZ, a social app that allows users to stream and experience immersive realism in extended reality (XR) and metaverse digital experiences, has raised $20 million in Series B investment.
Investors in the round include Caruso Ventures, Vision VC Fund, e& capital (investment pillar of e&, formerly known as Etisalat Group), DFDF (Dubai Future District Fund), WIN (Webit Investment Network), SRMG, Elbert Capital, Yasta Partners, Faith Capital and Panthera Capital. Seven existing investors participated as well.
The Dubai-based VUZ says that this round, which has seen it onboard a mix of U.S.- and EMEA-based investors, will be pivotal to its international expansion.
Founder and chief executive officer Khaled Zaatarah launched VUZ, formerly 360VUZ, as a platform to bridge the gap between physical and virtual worlds by offering premium immersive content to a global audience. According to Zaatarah, VUZ’s vision is to connect people by providing “authentic, immersive experiences while removing the constraints of travel, time, and access.”
The platform offers more than 20,000 hours of content covering entertainment, creators, sports and XR, VR and AR experiences virtually anywhere in the world.
Users can access and engage different content — in addition to those mentioned above, live events, concerts, celebrity interviews and masterclasses, through its 360-degree live streams — by downloading VUZ’s iOS and Android apps. About 70% of its content is free and VUZ monetizes by showing ads to users in this category; on the other hand, users must pay between $4-8 for its exclusive content.
The company is planning to allow users access content via different media: Meta/Oculus headsets, Qualcomm, immersive avatars and a web platform, Zaatarah said to TechCrunch.
The web3 platform claims to have reached over 1 billion screen views from more than 10 million users since its launch. Over 44% of these views come from the Middle East, 32% from the U.S. and 24% from Egypt. VUZ said it aims to reach 3 billion views in 2023 and double its user base 2x yearly.
Creators’ immersive content collaborations have also been a core driver for VUZ content, where its top creators get over 100 million views globally.
The funds will be used to fuel these plans, including improving its 10% month-on-month recurring revenue growth, investing in content, hiring additional senior hires, new social features, launching web3 products and NFT projects and scaling with asset-light operations into eight new international markets.
The investment will also see VUZ scale its Los Angeles office and scale with creators and content in the U.S., Asia and Europe.
source: Tech Crunch
Translate by: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
UAE-based metaverse startup Everdome, has succeeded raising $10 M from digital asset investment firm GEM Digital Limited based in Bahama.
Everdom achievements motivates the transaction
The announcement comes during a period of heightened activity for Everdome, since June 2022, a total of 11,700 plots (97%) located throughout the Everdome metaverse were sold throughout an eight-week auction experience. In total, plots were purchased for upwards of US$18.6 M, equivalent to 1,531 million DOME, Everdome's own digital currency. The average price of a plot of land in Everdome was $1590
Everdom will control the funding
Everdome will control the timing and the number of drawdowns under this facility, and has no minimum drawdown obligation. At its discretion, Everdome has the ability to sell up to 200% of their average daily volume, in Tokens across multiple exchanges to GEM Digital.
Sustainability of Everdome's future business
Gryn, CEO and Founder of Everdome commented about expected funding gains "the commitment from GEM will be used to strengthen Everdome's offering and ensure future sustainability in the business.
We're thrilled to partner with and achieve this investment commitment milestone with GEM, which confirms that we're on the right track as we seek to push new boundaries in the metaverse.
This is the perfect time for us to put our foot on the gas and really grow our product, which GEM's investment commitment will help us to do.
Everdome is in a very exciting place, and together with GEM we’ve taken the next step in order to build our metaverse ecosystem to the next level."
GEM's investment will be focused on team growth and metaverse technological expansion, and will see the game's virtual reality (VR) capabilities set on a fast track. Funds will also go towards boosting marketing efforts, partnership enablement, and investments that will aid Everdome's sustainable growth.
Dubai-based Stake raises $8 million to let people across the globe invest in local properties
12 Sep 2022 Written by Admin AdminDubai-based startup Stake is offering retail investors from across the globe the opportunity to buy fractions of rental property in UAE’s marquee city and earn regular income. The startup, founded in 2020, claims that because of Dubai’s real estate rules it has managed to attract investing users on the platform from more than 80 countries in the world.
The company, founded by Manar Mahmassani, Rami Tabbara and Ricardo Brizido in 2020, has raised $8 million in a pre-Series A round from investors like BY Ventures, MEVP and Vivium Holdings to expand its portfolio and launch in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The company first raised a $4 million seed round last year.
“This round is a testament to what we are building at Stake and our mission to bring access and liquidity to the oldest, largest, and most sought-after asset class in the world. The proceeds will allow us to expand into Saudi Arabia and Egypt, continue attracting the best talent to the team, and cement Stake’s position as the category leader in the MENA region,” Mahmassani said in a written statement.
Tabbara told TechCrunch over a call that after being in the real estate business for more than 15 years, he realized a lot of people want to invest in the MENA region but can’t afford to put in large chunks of money without paying huge commissions to brokers and developers. So he wanted to accelerate the process of investing in real estate with Stake.
The firm says it lists premium properties on its platform that are already on rent. To acquire a property, Stake looks at factors like location, build quality, view and if it has tenants. Tabbara said if the property is not rented, the company uses its data to list properties that could be rented out quickly. Stake has paid over AED 1 million ($272,249) in rental income to investors, which is credited every month.
Stake currently manages more than 44 properties with a combined value of AED 56 million ($17.9 million). The company claims that it has achieved an average 17% monthly growth rate in both investors and assets under management (AUM).
“Our platform currently boasts 42,000 registered users and more than 2,100 active investors on the platform. While we have users from many countries on the site, folks from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the U.K. and India are our top five investor bases,” Tabbara said.
Users can quickly register with the platform and invest from as low as AED 500 ($136). Because of Dubai’s investment rules individual investors can only invest up to AED 183,500 ($50,000) per year. The proptech company also limits maximum ownership by a single investor in a property to 33% to evenly spread out gains.
The firm doesn’t rely on financing to acquire homes. All the money to purchase a property comes from the investors. While Dubai’s property rule allows for partial deeds, there’s a cap of four investors, so Stake creates a special purpose vehicle for each property to facilitate deed registration. All properties usually have an investment term of five periods, but a house’s value goes up 30% in the market, and the investors can vote to sell it.
Stake’s business model relies on various fees. When investors purchase a property, the company charges them 1.5% with an additional 0.5% charged annually for maintenance. Plus, there are 0.2% Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-money laundering fees up front and 0.1% annually from the second year of the term. The company also charges investors 2.5% as an exit fee when they sell their stake. What’s more, if the property is sold at a higher rate than its acquisition, Stake takes a 15% cut from the profit. The company is not profitable yet but has achieved 470% year-on-year growth in terms of revenue.
In the next 12 months, apart from launching its platform in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the company also wants to build a second-day trading platform, where investors can sell their stake in a property to other investors. Stake is focusing on launching a way to let people invest in vacation properties that go on platforms like Airbnb — something that platforms like Komoco and Here are trying in the U.S.
In the local market, Stake’s closest competitor is SmartCrowd, which raised a $3 million bridge round in June. Tabbara claims that his company has already surpassed SmartCrowd when it comes to AUM.
“We are banking on our team, technology and experience in dealing with different properties to become the most prominent real estate investment platform in the Middlel East and North Africa (MENA) region,” he said.
Source: Techcrunch
- UAE-based technology and Investment Group AstraTech, has acquired fintech platform PayBy for an undisclosed sum.
- Founded in 2019 by Sean Wang, PayBy offers point-of-sale (POS) solutions for more than 1000 retail businesses based in the UAE. It currently has two million active users on its app.
- PayBy claims to have processed $160 million worth of transactions during May 2022.
Press release
PayBy — one of UAE’s largest and most innovative fintech companies, has been acquired by Astra Tech(‘Astra’), a UAE-born technology development and investment group. This acquisition follows the company’s recent acquisition of Rizek, a platform for on-demand personal and home services.
Currently raising USD 500 million in investment, the PayBy acquisition signals a major strategic move for Astra towards its ambition of creating an ‘ultra platform’ – a revolutionary, interconnected digital ecosystem that’s expected to address the growing problem of super app fatigue.
Spearheaded by Astra Founder and CEO, serial entrepreneur Abdallah Abu Sheikh, PayBy’s acquisition brings sophisticated proprietary payment technologies and financial services to Astra’s ultra platform to enable a seamless and cashless payment solution for consumers, merchants and businesses.
PayBy has grown considerably in the last 2 years with more than 2 million users and thousands of active merchants. As of May 2022, over AED 600 million worth of transactions were carried out.
Commenting on the acquisition Abu Sheikh said, “PayBy has been instrumental in pioneering financial inclusion in the UAE and is considered a key player in the cashless ecosystem.
As we integrate PayBy’s technologies, solutions and teams into Astra's ultra platform, our speed and ability to supercharge our services with industry-leading payments and money transfer solutions has accelerated immensely.”
Astra plans to acquire, repurpose, and bring together already established and sector-leading leading platforms to create an ultra platform to revolutionize how people live their lives by helping them save significant time when completing essential everyday tasks, including payments, transfers and transactions.
Additionally, Astra’s platform aims to deliver better value to the suppliers and partners of personal and home services by removing the burden of unfavorable commission structures.
Abdallah Abu Sheikh added, “With this acquisition, we’re getting closer than ever to realizing our vision and are excited to have the PayBy team join us. The integration of PayBy’s products with Astra’s ultra platform will allow us to synthesize and grow the ecosystem at a breakneck speed.
It will also help in delivering a compelling user experience and a sustainable commission structure for our merchants and businesses, something that a lot of super apps of today struggle with.”
source: Wamda
نجحت شركة "إيفيردوم (Everdome)"، التي تعمل في مجال العالم الافتراضي (الميتافيرس) ومقرها الرئيسي في الإمارات، بالحصول على التزام بتمويلها من شركة "جي إي أم ديتجال ليمتيد"، وهي شركة استثمار في الأصول الرقمية يقع مقرها الرئيسي في جزر البهاما، بقيمة 10 مليون دولار.
نجاحات إيفيردوم تدفع بالاتفاق
يأتي الإعلان عن اتفاقية التمويل في الوقت الذي تحقق فيه "إيفيردوم" نجاحات واسعة، إذ استطاعت الشركة منذ يونيو/حزيران الفات من بيع ما يقرب من 11،700 قطعة أرض، أو ما يعادل 97% من إجمالي مساحة "الميتافيرس" الخاص بالشركة، بمزاد علني استغرق نحو ثمانية أسابيع، حيث بلغت قيمة الأراضي المباعة نحو 18.6 مليون دولار أمريكي أو ما يعادل مليار و531 $DOME، وهي العملة الرقيمة الخاصة بالشركة، أي أن متوسط سعر قطعة الأرض في عالم "إيفيردوم" الافتراضي بلغ نحو 1590 دولار أمريكي.
إيفيردوم المتحكمة التمويل
ستتولى شركة "إيفيردوم (Everdome)" التحكم بتوقيت وعدد عمليات الاقتراض بموجب اتفاقية القرض الرئيسة، ولا يوجد حد أدنى من الالتزام بالقرض. واستناداً إلى تقديرها الخاص، تتمتع "إيفيردوم (Everdome)"، بالقدرة على بيع ما يصل إلى 200 في المائة من متوسط الحجم اليومي القابل للبيع من الرموز عبر مجموعة متنوعة من البورصات إلى شركة "جي إي إم ديجيتال".
استدامة أعمال إيفيردوم المستقبلية
وعن المكاسب المتوقعة من التمويل، علق روب جرين، الرئيس التنفيذي ومؤسس شركة "إيفيردوم (Everdome)"، بالقول "سيتم استخدام الاستثمار الذي التزمت به "جي إي إم" لتعزيز عروض "إيفيردوم (Everdome)" وضمان استدامة الأعمال في المستقبل..نحن سعداء للغاية لإبرام هذه الشراكة مع "جي إي إم" الحصول على هذا الاستثمار التاريخي معها، ما يؤكد أننا نتقدم على المسار الصحيح، في الوقت الذي نسعى فيه إلى تخطي الحدود الجديدة في عالم "الميتافيرس (Metaverse)" الافتراضي. تعد هذه المرحلة بمثابة الوقت المثالي لكي نعمل على تسريع الجهود من أجل تطوير منتجاتنا. وهذا بالضبط ما سيساعدنا التزام "جي إي إم" بالاستثمار على القيام به. لقد بلغت "إيفيردوم (Everdome)" محطة مثيرة للغاية في مسيرتها، وبالتعاون مع "جي إي إم"، سنقوم بالخطوة التالية من أجل نقل منظومة "الميتافيرس Metaverse)" الافتراضية خاصتنا إلى المستوى التالي".
ومن المتوقع هذا الاتفاقية، "إيفيردوم (Everdome)" على التركيز في تنمية فريق عملها وتوسيع تكنولوجيا "الميتافيرس"، إلى جانب المساهمة في تحسين قدرتها على تخصص الأموال لتعزيز الجهود التسويقية، وتمكين الشراكات والاستثمارات التي من شأنها أن تدعم النمو المستدام لشركة "إيفيردوم (Everdome)".
Dubai’s Emaar Development has reported record property sales of AED 15.216 billion ($4.143 billion) in the first half of 2022, up 10% year-on-year. The developer’s profits surged to AED 1.28 billion in Q2.
While profits were up from AED 1.003 billion year-on-year (YoY) in Q2, and grew from to AED 2.507 billion in H1 from AED 2.09 billion, financial reports posted to Dubai Financial Market (DFM) today showed revenue for the second quarter softened down from AED 3.907 billion YoY to AED 3.714 billion.
Revenue for the first half of the year was AED 7.282 billion, down from AED 7.754 billion YoY, the results showed.
Emaar said in a statement published to DFM today that its sales backlog increased to AED 32.753 billion and that it launched 15 projects in the first half of the year.
Emaar Development is the development arm of Emaar Properties, which will acquire Dubai Creek Harbour from Dubai Holding in a $2 billion deal, it was announced today.
source: Zaway
Majid Al Futtaim Group launches program to support startups in collaboration with Astrolabs
25 Jul 2022 Written by Admin AdminTranslated by: Pirween B. Sido
In a new step to strengthen its role as a supporter of entrepreneurs and startups in the MENA ; Majid Al Futtaim, in partnership with Astraulabs, launched the Majid Al Futtaim Launchap program to support and accelerate the growth and development of start-ups and SMEs in strategic sectors. and its evolution.
Platform to support innovation:
According to Joe Abi-Akl , Chief Executive Officer of Institutional Development at Majid Al Futtaim Group ; The program will provide the latest innovative solutions and services through the care and development of startups and SMEs within the overall ecosystem of innovation, This program will have positive benefits for consumers, employees, business owners, investors and governments across the region , Roland Dahir, Chief Executive Officer of Estrolabs, adds that the program will be presented via its launch platform all support for startups to identify and select ambitious local brands and startups that can contribute to the growth and development of the sustainable digitization ecosystem, Large companies will be able to take advantage of their market position and knowledge of the sector's needs, as well as their vast resources, to attract SMEs that still find it difficult to penetrate markets and grow in their own sectors ,the program's launch platform will also offer opportunities to provide fast and modern solutions and services to customers.
At the same time, there are more tangible growth opportunities, such as accelerating opportunities for acquisition deals. Improve operational efficiency and provide best-in-class professional guidance to the region's start-ups, small and medium enterprises.
target areas:
The Programme directs its support to key areas of economic growth, including domestic emerging companies, attracting successful start-ups focused on culture, heritage, sustainability and innovation; As well as health and beauty companies, which offer innovative products and technical solutions designed to enhance the customer experience.
In addition to "Real Estate Technologies" companies that provide innovative and sustainable solutions that contribute to assisting construction companies, digitizing the real estate development sector, residential communities and hotel spaces, and improving experiences in shopping malls.
About Majid Al Futtaim Group:
Founded in 1992, Majid Al Futtaim Group is a shopping mall, shops and recreational communities in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Today, the group is developing and managing malls, integrated cities and retail facilities in the United Arab Emirates.
UAE-based DeFi platform ZKX has raised $4.5 million in Seed funding from StarkWare, Alameda Research, Amber Group, Huobi and Crypto.com.
Founded in 2021 by Eduard Jubany Tur, Naman Sehgal, and Vitaly Yakovlev, ZKX is a decentralised finance platform that helps make faster transactions and keeps gas fees low, and is built on StarkNet.
The funding will go towards further development of its open-source protocol, DAO funding and growth of the ZXK ecosystem.
Dubai-based DeFi platform ZKX raised $4.5 million in seed funding today from StarkWare, Alameda Research, Amber Group, Huobi, Crypto.com and others.
The decentralised finance platform helps make faster transactions and keeps gas fees low, and is built on StarkNet. These funds were raised in spite of a cryptocrash in particular and funding winter in general
“The downturn is driven by the Federal Reserve tightening interest rates and driving de-risking across asset classes. Alameda, Crypto.com, and our other partners have been actively fostering and building the Web3 ecosystem for years. This should only strengthen the ecosystem in the long run by cleaning up the bad apples and focusing on the strongest players,” said Eduard Jubany Tur, Founder at ZKX.
The funding will go towards further development of its open-source protocol, DAO funding and growth of the ZXK ecosystem.
ZKX was founded in 2021 by Eduard Jubany Tur, Naman Sehgal, and Vitaly Yakovlev. The team has hired from Flipkart, PayTM, and Byju’s, with decades of shared experience in venture building and scaling technology startups in over eight countries.
It had earlier received investment from Sandeep Nailwal, co-Founder, Polygon, and Ashwin Ramachandran, General Partner, DragonFly Capital.
The platform aims to address some of the key challenges of the DeFi market, such as over-reliance on centralized entities, scalability, high gas fees for traders and painful user experience.
“We are determined to build an exchange that breaks down the barriers to using DeFi by building a protocol that enables trading derivatives of assets on StarkNet. Our goal is to expand our reach across emerging markets, enabling users to have fair representation within a DAO,” said Jubany.
Source: Business Insider
Dubai-based digital banking start-up YAP raises $41mln for expansion
17 Jul 2022 Written by Admin AdminDubai-based start-up YAP, which operates a digital banking app, has raised $41 million to fund its expansion in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
The new investment came from Saudi Arabia's Aljazira Capital alongside other investors including Abu Dawood Group, Astra Group and Audacia Capital, the company said in a statement on Monday.
The fintech firm launched last year a digital banking platform, which now has more than 130,000 users.
The app provides a complete view of a consumer's spending analytics and ways to transfer money, pay bills and make purchases. Users are not required to maintain a minimum balance in their account.
The start-up intends to complete its Series A funding by the end of the year and use the new capital to support its expansion and growth in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Ghana.
It said it has partnered with Bank AlJazira to launch its consumer and business platforms in Saudi Arabia and received regulatory approval in Pakistan and Ghana to offer similar services. It also plans to launch in Egypt soon.
source: Zawya
$1.49bln in weeklong real estate and properties transactions in Dubai
17 Jul 2022 Written by Admin Admin186 plots were sold for $162.04mln, 1,004 apartments and villas were sold for $662mln, data released by Dubai's Land Department showed.
DUBAI, 15th July, 2022 (WAM) -- The real estate and properties transactions valued at AED 5.5 billion in total during the week ending 15 July 2022. The sum of transactions was 1,614.
186 plots were sold for AED 594.72 million, 1,004 apartments and villas were sold for AED 2.43 billion, data released by Dubai's Land Department (DLD) showed.
The DLD weekly report said the top three transactions were a land in Ras Al Khor Industrial First sold for AED 32.91 million, followed by a land that was sold for AED 19.41 million in Al Merkadh, and a land sold for AED 32.91 million in Ras Al Khor Industrial First in third place.
Al Hebiah Fifth recorded the most transactions for this week by 105 sales transactions worth AED 262.43 million, followed by Jabal Ali First with 35 sales transactions worth AED 101.75 million, and Al Yufrah 2 with 12 sales transactions worth AED 15 million in third place.
The top three transfers for apartments and villas were an apartment was sold for AED 317 million in Burj Khalifa, an apartment was second in the list sold for AED 240 million in Al Wasl, and thirdly it was an apartment sold for AED 191 million in Palm Jumeirah.
The sum of the amount of mortgaged properties for the week was 2.06 billion, with the highest being a building in Burj Khalifa, mortgaged for AED 550 million.
80 properties were granted between first-degree relatives worth AED 479 million.
source: Zawya
