Nawy, Africa’s largest proptech company, has taken a major step in the GCC market by acquiring a significant stake in SmartCrowd, the region’s first regulated platform enabling fractional property investments.
This move strengthens Nawy’s ambition to lead the proptech sector across the Middle East and Africa. The company aims to accelerate its growth in digital property listings, mortgage financing, brokerage services, and fractional ownership.
This expansion follows Nawy’s recent $52 million, Series A fundraise in participation with e& Capital, Partech, March Capital Investments (MCI), Endeavor Catalyst, , Development Partners International (DPI) Venture Capital via the Nclude Fund, Shorooq, VentureSouq (VSQ), Outliers, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), HOF Capital, and Plug and Play, part of a US $75 million total to accelerate its growth across real estate verticals including digital property listings, mortgage financing, brokerage services, and fractional ownership.
Nawy recently relaunched ROA as Nawy Unlocked, enhancing its property super-app.
SmartCrowd, headquartered in Dubai, has facilitated $110 million in property transactions and distributed over $40 million in rental income and capital gains. With over 130 countries served, the platform is known for delivering market-leading returns.
“This is a transformative transaction for SmartCrowd, joining forces with Nawy to build the region’s premier proptech ecosystem,” said Riz Ahmed, CEO of SmartCrowd. “With strong alignment in vision and culture, this partnership accelerates our transition from startup to scale-up – making us the go-to platform for real estate investment in the Middle East.”
“SmartCrowd’s platform gives us a proven investment engine built on trust, performance, and regulatory strength,” said Mostafa El-Beltagy, CEO of Nawy. “The perfect match for Nawy’s tech-first approach to real estate. Together, we’re unlocking a new era of seamless property investment across MENA: data-driven, accessible, and built for today’s digital investor.”
The UAE’s real estate market is projected to reach $33 billion by 2030, driven by innovations like tokenisation and fractional ownership, making it an ideal time for Nawy’s regional expansion.
With over 1 million monthly users and $3 billion in gross merchandise value, Nawy is rapidly becoming a transformative force in the region’s proptech landscape. Nawy’s ecosystem now includes Nawy Now, Nawy Shares, Nawy Unlocked, and Nawy Partners, offering a comprehensive platform for real estate investment.
