Egypt-based proptech firm Nawy has acquired a majority stake in SmartCrowd, a UAE-based platform that enables fractional real estate investment in Dubai. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
This acquisition marks one of the earliest significant cross-border deals between proptech companies from Africa and the Gulf region, suggesting a broader trend of African startups extending their reach into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) property markets.
The move follows Nawy’s recent $52 million Series A funding round and signals its official entry into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) real estate landscape. Member states include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. With this expansion, Nawy aims to strengthen its position in the regional proptech ecosystem.
The company now operates a full-stack real estate technology platform offering services across home financing, property brokerage, fractional ownership, and asset enhancement.
“SmartCrowd’s platform gives us a proven investment engine built on trust, performance, and regulatory strength,” said Mostafa El-Beltagy, CEO of Nawy. “It complements Nawy’s tech-first approach to real estate.”
The UAE real estate investment sector is forecasted to reach $33 billion by the end of the decade. Nawy currently records over 1 million monthly users and has facilitated $3 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) to date.
SmartCrowd’s CEO Rizwan “Riz” Ahmed noted that the deal supports SmartCrowd’s transition from startup to scale-up, aligning both companies in vision and culture. “This partnership helps us build a leading regional platform for real estate investment,” he said.
Earlier this year, Nawy also acquired ROA, an asset management and home finishing company, rebranding it as Nawy Unlocked. The move supports Nawy’s long-term plan to launch a comprehensive property super-app for the region.
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By Ravi Kumar