DFSA-regulated proptech platform SmartCrowd launched the lowest ever entry point for its online property investment platform in Dubai, the company said in a recent statement.
At a new minimum pricing of AED 500 (approximately USD 136), the proptech company will be accessible to retail investors from more diverse income brackets to own a share of real estate in Dubai.
SmartCrowd also said in the statement that its proptech platform has enabled thousands of users to make investments in more than 40 properties in Dubai, including Downtown, Marina, Jumeirah Lake Towers, and Jumeirah Village Circle. Investment opportunities are also available in Jumeirah Beach Residence and City Walk, the statement said.
Meanwhile, rental incomes earned on the platform amount to over AED 1.3 million (or USD 354,000), the company said.
“We want to make property investment affordable and accessible to everyone. For the same price as a brunch or a round of golf, everyday investors can now own a part of the vibrant city of Dubai,” CEO and co-founder of SmartCrowd Siddiq Farid said. “This is a chance for regular hard-working people to build wealth and savings for the future. They are no longer restricted to only investing in stocks and bonds.”
The investment offer was open to tourists as well, Farid said.
Properties on the proptech platform can be funded in as little as two hours, the statement noted. Further, 65% of users on the platform were repeat investors, holding an average of more than three investments, the company claimed.
SmartCrowd is a UAE-based proptech startup with offices at the Abu Dhabi Global Market and DIFC FinTech Hive. It graduated from the Dubai Financial Services Authority’s regulatory sandbox in 2019, with a full license.
ONLINE INVESTING TAKES OFF IN THE MENA REGION
The pandemic last year prompted a global retail investment boom, with the MENA region seeing offshoots of the same. These new amateur investors are looking to invest in more traditional asset classes such as mutual funds, but also aim to diversify their portfolios by investing in a mix of asset classes.
This has led to an influx of online investment and wealth management platforms such as SmartCrowd’s proptech investment platform. For instance, Singaporean wealth management platform StashAway expanded to the UAE last year, while local startups Sarwa and baraka both recently raised funding for their investment platforms. Institutional incumbents such as Saxo Bank and Ava Trade also have a presence in the MENA region.
WANT MORE REAL ESTATE INSIGHT?
Subscribe to the Cityscape newsletter here