Oman New Securities Law provisions for regulation of virtual assets

Oman New Securities Law provisions for regulation of virtual assets

Oman Capital Market Authority recently issued its new Securities Law (46/2022) which  stipulates that the authority can “Agree to application of technologies, virtual digital investments or any products or services in the areas related to the provisions of this law, as set out in the Regulation.”

In an article in Oman Observer, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Salim Al Salmi, Executive President of the  Oman Capital Market Authority states, “ The law will contribute to the growth of FinTech based services as the law authorizes the authority to regulate innovative financing, approval of FinTech based apps and virtual investments. The law also allows expanding the financing options by regulating new products and services.”

In March of 2022, Oman Capital Markets Authority (CMA), invited companies interested in helping it set up a regulatory framework for virtual assets to participate in a tender process. According to sources, the regulatory framework should be finalized by Q3 of 2022.

The new Securities Law is only further proof of the commitment Oman government and Capital Market has for developing its virtual assets framework and allowing the trade and investment in virtual assets in the future. This could pave the way for security token issuances in the Oman stock market a bold step into the future of investments and stock trading. 

Saudi Nuqtah NFT Marketplace partners with Ethereum Consensys

Saudi Nuqtah NFT Marketplace partners with Ethereum Consensys

KSA NuqtahNFT marketplace  has partnered with Consensys, an Ethereum blockchain company.

The agreement aims to transfer the knowledge and expertise of Consensys to empower Web 3 startups in Saudi Arabia in line with Nuqtah’s goal of accelerating Web 3 adoption, and in clear alignment with the Kingdom’s vision to become a hub for technology.

According to ConsenSys Partnership Lead Ian Wallis: “With Nuqtah’s existing Infura and Ethereum infrastructure, the potential in the Saudi market is huge and we are very excited to be launching this strategic partnership with NuqtahNFT, Saudi’s leading NFT marketplace to provide even more functionality and empowerment of creatives in the MENA region.”

Salwa Radawi, CEO of Nuqtah, commented: “Our mission is to spearhead the adoption of Web 3 in MENA, by tirelessly developing and enabling a complete and robust infrastructure, tailored specifically to the MENA region originators.”

Salwa also added: “This partnership is only the beginning of our opening. It not only opens a great deal of opportunities for us and fellow Web 3 startups within the industry but also ensures that we are able to transfer this knowledge and localize it for the region.”

Last week Nuqtah NFT Marketplace announced it would be raising 5 million USD in seed capital.

Four Lebanese Crypto Blockchain startups Win University Hackathon

Four Lebanese Crypto Blockchain startups Win University Hackathon

Despite the dire economic situation and maybe because of it, many startups are turning towards solutions built on blockchain and crypto. Lebanon has become one of the leading countries in MENA region for crypto mining, and crypto trading. Recently, the American University of Beirut witnessed a 48 hour Blockchain Crypto Hackathon which culminated in the success of four Lebanese startups offering innovative crypto blockchain solutions.

Organized by the Darwazah Center for Innovation Management & Entrepreneurship (DC) at the Olayan School of Business (OSB) within th American University of Beirut (AUB) in partnership i-Park and Beirut Digital District, four Lebanese crypto blockchain startups were announced as winners. 

First prize went to CrypLock, which is working to bring trustless operations to cover over the counter crypto transactions via a digital escrow. The second Prize went to Cash2Coin, which is working to make crypto transaction as easy as ATM operations via stablecoins. In Third place came Walleti, which seeks to increase mass market adoption of Crypto through pre-paid crypto scratch cards and applications. Finally in Fourth place came D-Bank, which seeks to enhance SME (Small to Medium Size Enterprise) reputation using blockchain.

Prizes ranged from 15,000 USD to 5,000 USD offered by leading Blockchain platforms such as Avalanche, NYM Technologies, and L1 Digital. Speakers at the event included John Nahas, VP Business Development for Ava Labs, Harry Halpin, CEO of blockchain privacy startup Nym, Ray Hindi, CEO/CIO and co-founder of L1 Digital, Cyrus Azad, Vice President of Business Development at Digital Transit, Charbel Ghossan, the founder and CEO of Digital Transit, Abdulwahab Alzuaby, the CTO of Arcadous and Rafic Farra, the founder of Walleti & Coinsultancy.

Amir Taaki, Founder of Agora DeFi movement, a well-known programmer who rewrote a portion of the Bitcoin code made the closing remarks at the event. In his speech he made a call to action for DeFi

MENA Investors invest 5 million USD in TGV4 Plus 146 million Follow on Fund

MENA Investors invest 5 million USD in TGV4 Plus 146 million Follow on Fund

 True Global Ventures 4 Plus (TGV4 Plus) Fund has closed its US$146m Follow on Fund. The Follow on Fund will double down on the TGV4 base fund investments, the likes of Animoca, Sandbox, Forge, Chromaway, CoinHouse, GCEX, and others. Interestingly 40 percent of the Follow on Fund was raised from partners in Middle East, India and Asia. Investment from Middle East partners was 3.4 percent of the 40 percent making their total participation 5 million USD. While portfolio companies such as GCEX, Enjinstarter and IoMob have established operations in Dubai UAE. TGV4 Plus has been partnering with MENA based investors including Cypher Capital and Crypto Oasis among others. 

Valerie Hawley, Affiliate Founding Partner, Middle East True Global Ventures 4 Plus , told LaraOntheBlock, “More than 40% of the Follow on Fund has been raised from partners based in the Middle East, India and Asia, of those 3.4 percent were from Middle East Partners in particular. This just goes to show the increasing importance this region has to play in the Venture Capital space.  Numerous portfolio companies from our base fund, GCEX, Enjinstarter and IoMob, have established operations in Dubai, and we expect many more to do so given the crypto friendly environment the UAE has established with the creation of VARA (Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority).”

The TGV4 plus Follow on Fund  whose 15 General Partners (GP), lead the fund and its Investment Committee, put in more than US$62m of their money into the fund. This is a total GP commitment of over 40% of the total fund size and over US$4m per GP on average. The first capital call of the fund has been fully paid in.

The TGV 4 Plus base fund invested in serial entrepreneurs leading globally ambitious Blockchain start-ups. It covers 20 cities in North America, Europe and Asia. The fund is dedicated to Web3 companies, primarily in late-stage Series A, B and C across 3 verticals: Entertainment & gaming, financial services, infrastructure & data analytics / Artificial Intelligence (AI).

It has invested in some of the leading Web3 companies such as Animoca Brands, The Sandbox, Forge, Chromaway, Coinhouse, GCEX, Chronicled and others. 

The new Follow on Fund will focus on investing a majority of its capital into selected TGV 4 Plus base fund companies. It might also invest in other late stage Web3 deals opportunistically.

“The base fund has been a fantastic success, but we are still only in the starting blocks of Web3. We believe that our early winners will grow even stronger and with the Follow on Fund, we give our partners an opportunity to invest more into these companies” says Fredrik Adolfsson, General Partner.

“After some years of growth, our best portfolio companies are looking to expand even further. We want to help and assist them with the Follow On Fund, as we are ready on the starting blocks, when many growth funds focus on regaining investors’ trust during this period”, says Konrad Wawruch, General Partner.

General Partner Dušan Stojanović adds, “We raised the money in record time in 4 months and we believe this is the best time to invest during market corrections. I would say that it is much easier to see more clearly who the winners are now. This has created a high level of confidence amongst our investors who have seen a large GP Commit and the first call being executed very quickly”.

UAE ZelaaPayAE to introduce crypto payment credential with VisaNet

UAE ZelaaPayAE to introduce crypto payment credential with VisaNet

UAE based ZelaaPayAE, with headquarters in Sharjah Tech Park and offices in Dubai, which works to integrate fiat and crypto payments utilizing Polygon Blockchain infrastructure, has now joined Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program for a period of five years, to speed up the process of integrating with visa while introducing crypto backed payment credential in the UAE and wider CEMEA region.

As per ZelaaPayAE twitter post, “In this 5-year long partnership with Visa, we are focused on growing across United Arab Emirates and KSA region. ZelaaPayAE shall continue to identify and develop payment products such as collateralized spending and more throughout the span of this collaboration.”

They add, “This accolade now enables us as a fintech provider to enable crypto-transactions using physical debit cards easier and accessible with over 70 million merchants that comprise Visa’s vast ecosystem. It will also allow us to innovate further and surf beyond just debit cards.”

“I have dreamt of making ZelaaPayAE a pioneering fintech startup in the UAE and one of the first movers towards providing alternative financial solutions to the end consumer in this region. By joining Visa’s Fast Track program, this will now be possible and our demographic reach will be limitless as we strive to push for adoption and further utility of payments through cryptocurrencies,” said Sahil Arora, CEO & Founder of ZelaaPayAE.

Alex McCrea, VP, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Ventures for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Visa, said: ““We’re delighted to welcome ZelaaPayAE to Visa’s Fintech Fast Track program and excited to work with them on the enablement of secure and seamless crypto payments in the UAE. We have no doubt the team at ZelaaPayAE will leverage access to the experts, technology and resources that the program allows to scale with efficiency and expand access to crypto payments.”

Recently ZelaaPay announced that that Cagau store in Dubai are now accepting cryptocurrencies at their store using Bitcoin, USDT, BNB, TRX through ZelaaPay’s XPOS powered by PundixLabs.  

ZelaaPay partnered with Lead Ventures in the UAE.

UAE Midchains has also partnered recently with Visa Fast track to offer the same services as ZelaayPay’s partnership with Visa. 

KSA Blockchain enabled NFT Marketplace to raise 5 million USD in new funding round

KSA Blockchain enabled NFT Marketplace to raise 5 million USD in new funding round

After KSA based Nuqtah, Blockchain enabled NFT Marketplace raised its pre-Seed round led by UAE Shorooq Partners in November 2021; the company is now looking to raise an additional 5 million USD in a new funding round. Founder and CEO Salwa Radwi spoke to AlSharq on this.

Salwa Radwi plans to make Nuqtah become the de-facto platform for the Saudi and MENA digital creative economy. In the first round of financing, Shorooq Partners, along with KSA Sanabil a subsidiary of KSA Public Investment Fund participated in the pre Seed round. Nuqtah participated in the second cohort round with 500 MENA seed accelerator.

Nuqtah recently hired Dr. Majid Al Mansouri as Head of strategy. Al Mansouri has more than 8 years experience in Blockchain, AI, and VR space. He has advised, led and invested in more than 40 blockchain companies globally. He also founded the Blockchain Research Institute in various Saudi Universities in collaboration with Oxford University.

In the new funding round Nuqtah looks to use the funds for attracting human resources, developing technologies and products, and enhancing the marketing process of the company’s activity locally and regionally.

Nuqtah enables MENA users to publish and sell their work seamlessly and will serve as a global platform for buyers keen on acquiring the latest NFTs by renowned and emerging MENA artists. Nuqtah plans to build on the thriving NFTs space, and utilize the underlying blockchain technology to spearhead innovation in other verticals such as media and entertainment.

In the previous round, Shane Shin, Founding Partner at Shorooq Partners, said, “Ever since moving to Saudi, I have witnessed first-hand the tremendous evolution of the creative and cultural landscape, led by passionate young Saudis. The Kingdom is on an ambitious digital transformation journey, and the creative economy is one of the core pillars of the nation’s long term vision. As we continue to back daring founders and support them in building enduring and sector-leading companies, we are privileged to join Nuqtah as the Kingdoms first NFT platform. We believe in the Nuqtah team’s vision, and are humbled to work with them to take Nuqtah to the global NFT arena, representing the region’s vibrant and rich creative depth.”

Amal Dokhan, Partner at 500 Global said, “We are ecstatic to have Nuqtah be a part of our second cohort at Sanabil 500 MENA seed accelerator. Seeing more female founders take lead in Saudi is truly refreshing and more so in such an exciting intersection between the arts & blockchain in an Arabic enabled NFT platform, we believe in Nuqtah’s founding team and are surely privileged to support their journey towards Growth.”

 “Our goal is to create the ultimate environment for creators in the Kingdom, where they can sell their masterpieces at the value they deserve safely and securely. The Nuqtah founding team is from the core of the creative community in the region, hence, they truly understand what it means to be creative in the kingdom. We are here to transform the industry,” says Salwa Radwi the CEO at Nuqtah.

The Saudi Ministry of Tourism and Saudi Toursim Authority has announced the creation of  NFT (non-fungible token) souvenirs, in a move that reflects the Kingdom’s advancement in digital tourism. His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minster of Tourism of Saudi Arabia BoD Chairman of the Saudi Tourism Authority presented the personalized digital mementos in a first of its kind initiative to the heads of delegations participating in the 116th session of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Jeddah, as a token of appreciation for their visit to the Kingdom.​

Recently the Saudi Ministry of Tourism  and Saudi Tourism authority created NFT souvenirs gifted to heads of delegations participating in the 16th session of the Executive Counsil of the United Nations World Tourism Organization. As per the press release, stunning VR 3D Saudi landscapes and landmarks were converted into NFTs 

His Excellency Ahmed Al Khateeb, Minister of Tourism of Saudi Arabia, said the NFT souvenirs embody the leadership’s vision for the future of the Kingdom. “As technology advances, it is important that we remain at the forefront of innovation. Our tourism infrastructure is designed to embrace new trends, and digital transformation is one of our top priorities. The NFTs serve as a bold statement to the world that Saudi Arabia is developing an unparalleled tourism sector where travelers can expect to see and experience unique and futuristic offerings.”

Turkish Har Group discusses metaverse with UAE Minister of Foreign Trade

Turkish Har Group discusses metaverse with UAE Minister of Foreign Trade

As a result of the recently launched Dubai’s metaverse strategy which aims to increase the contribution of the metaverse sector to Dubai’s economy to US$4 billion by 2030 and increase its contribution to Dubai’s GDP to 1 percent, regional companies in the MENA region, specifically Turkey are flocking towards the country. Burak Soylu, CEO of Har Group, noted in a recent tweet on the productive meeting he and his team had with UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi. 

He stated, “We had a productive meeting with Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, about the UAE’s work in the metaverse and web 3.0.”

Turkish based Har Group incorporates under its wings five companies in the sector of technology, tourism, energy and agriculture and comprises over 500 employees.

One of its companies is Roof Stacks, a software company that specializes in tourism systems, the metaverse, augmented reality, game development and financial technology. As per their website they are the flagship company of Har Group. Under the entity are sub units that include Roof Tickets and Roof Moneys.

Har Groups also holds an entity called Roof XR that designs GoArt Metaverse, built on AR augmented reality technology with offices in both the USA and Turkey.  Roof Moneys is the designer of the Goarc token used on the GoArt Metaverse platform. In the fictional universe of GoArt, these coins, where users can shop and interact with other avatars using Goarc tokens with their own avatars, are produced based on RoofPay and Ethereum.

As per Har Group website, “GoArt is one of our most important investments, which we believe will be an important factor in the digital future of Turkey and the world in the near term.”

It seems that the UAE will witness more interest and meetings from metaverse companies across the MENA region and globally. 

IBM’s TradeLens transacts first electronic bill of Ladings in UAE

IBM’s TradeLens transacts first electronic bill of Ladings in UAE

TradeLens, a Blockchain enable supply chain platform has just issued the first bills of lading in UAE for both Safelin Freight and Fortuna in DMCC ( Dubai Multi Commodities Center)

Safeline Freight and Fortuna DMCC  through TradeLens have accessed  digital issuance, transfer, and surrender of original bills of lading using blockchain technology. Combined, the two companies move more than 7,500 containers annually in and out of the UAE.

TradeLens was jointly developed by Maersk and IBM. TradeLens allows an original bill of lading to be digitally issued directly from a carrier and moved electronically through its journey with all the stakeholders. This reduces the hassles of sending physical papers from one stakeholder to the other through a courier process, eliminates the costly possibility of documents getting lost or forged, and removes inefficiencies from manual processes.

Mr. Ahmed Beyi, CEO Safeline Freight, stated, “I was amazed at how easy and fast I can control all my bill of ladings through the TradeLens eBL. Since this is a cloud-based solution, all my consignments and documents are available to my team and me on any device anywhere in the world.” He added, “With the eBL now being accepted by major ocean carriers, ports, customs and a list that keeps growing, life has become easier for freight forwarders and our customers.”

The eBL technology developed by TradeLens provides a solution available to all shippers regardless of size or use case. The elimination of physical hand-off of documentation accelerated during the pandemic, and the modernization of supply chain infrastructure with the use of technology became even more critical. 

The TradeLens ecosystem consists of more than 1000 organizations, including major ocean carriers representing over two-thirds of the global market, and integrated with leading trade finance banks operating in multiple countries with a shared vision to help modernize the trade finance industry. The platform has already tracked more than 55 million container shipments, 4.7 billion events, and more than 25 million published documents.

Varun Kulshreshtha, Regional Head of TradeLens, Maersk West & Central Asia, said, “TradeLens eBL is our latest addition to our portfolio of products in the UAE which also include visibility and document collaboration making the TradeLens platform a very compelling proposition for any company’s journey to digitize the supply chain. The eBL has proven to be very popular with customers and in a few short years should become the default way of managing shipments in our region.”

Iraqi American Beauty Entrepreneur discusses investing in NFTs and Women

Iraqi American Beauty Entrepreneur discusses investing in NFTs and Women

When Huda Kattan, an Iraqi American beauty Blogger launched her blog in 2010, she didn’t imagine that in 2022, she would head one of the fastest growing beauty brands in the world with over 50 million followers on Instagram and a net worth of 500 million USD.

Her success actually started in Dubai UAE, when Huda and her sisters Mona and Alya created a collection of false eyelashes under the Huda Beauty brand name which later launched at Sephora in Dubai Mall.

Recently Huda was invited to speak at Gary Vaynerchuk’s Web3.o and NFT conference Veecon, at US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.  

Only a handful  of women were present at the event, including Mila Kunis and Eva Longoria, Kattan spoke on her recent investments into NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens) and how few women are involved in the crypto space.

Kattan currently owns hundreds of NFTs, including those from the project  World of Women NFT. As per their website, WoW’s vision is to build an inclusive web3 through its collection and community. According to research published in Nov. 2021, female artists accounted for just 5% of all NFT art sales in the prior 21 months. WoW is on a mission to change this. Kattan’s investment into digital art NFTs stems from her passion and is not based on pure financial gain.

In her interview with Yahoo Finance, Katan who discussed investing in NFTs states, “Passion is essential you with passion you can be patient when the market goes up and down. I know not everybody feels that way, but I do believe that when you have passion you bring so much more to the NFT community, more than just the value of buying NFTs, the community part is so important.”

“As much money as I’ve made, I’ve lost a lot of money,” Kattan said about her new investments. “And it’s very easy to be like, ‘Oh my god buy this lipstick. There’s no real downfall if you don’t like it, you lost $20. If you invest in an NFT project, you become part of the community, you invest so much time. And if that doesn’t go well, that’s your wealth that is your livelihood.”

The Veecon event had a ratio of 50 to 1 in terms of men versus women. Huda hopes that will change in the future with the help of NFT communities. She states, “The NFT space reminds me of the beauty space in the beginning. Things are shifting and changing.”

At the moment only 2 percent of VC money goes to women. Women still represent fewer than 15 percent of the crypto space.  “I am a strong woman, I’m a very confident woman, I have a lot of personality and am rarely uncomfortable in any situation and I am intimidated with that space so I can’t imagine how other women must feel,” she said. “Getting more women here needs to be a very conscious effort.”

Kattan’s presence in the NFT domain comes at a time in the MENA when institutions such UAE Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has partnered with Web3 identity platform and NFT domain provider Unstoppable Domains to provide free crypto domains to all women residing in Abu Dhabi. The giveaway aims to provide opportunities for more women to learn about and ultimately participate in Web3, a space where only 5% to 7% of all cryptocurrency users are women and just 12% work in blockchain.

The initiative was announced during a delegation visit to Abu Dhabi by the ‘Women of Web3′, a powerhouse group of disruptive female tech entrepreneurs from the United States exploring the emirate as a gateway for global expansion.

Eng. Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Acting Director General of ADIO, said: “Abu Dhabi is ensuring the future of Web3 is built around powerful infrastructures that appeal to all members of the community. By supporting initiatives that invite and uplift women, we can champion diversity early in the Web3 era. The partnership with Unstoppable Domains to provide frees crypto domains to all women in Abu Dhabi and embodies the emirate’s promise of inclusion, while creating opportunities for private sector participation in a fast-growing space.”

Sandy Carter, SVP of Unstoppable Domains and Founder of Unstoppable Women of Web3, stated: “It’s great to see Abu Dhabi leading the mission to bring Web3 opportunities to women in the Middle East. It has been an honor to be a part of the ‘Women of Web3’ delegation, and I am grateful to Access Abu Dhabi and ADIO for providing such an immersive look into Abu Dhabi’s business and technology ecosystem.”

Sarah Omolewu, Managing Partner of Maven Global Access and founder of Access Abu Dhabi, said, “In a market of expats from more than 200 countries, this initiative could potentially impact the lives of generations of women around the world.” She added, “This is the legacy-building impact I envisioned for the Access Abu Dhabi program. While the financial gap between male and female founders still exists, the game is changing, and more women recognize the value of emerging technologies in growing and funding their businesses.”

Roland Berger Crypto Oasis partnership to propel the biggest Blockchain and crypto projects in MENA

Roland Berger Crypto Oasis partnership to propel the biggest Blockchain and crypto projects in MENA

It is big news when a leading global strategy and management consultancy firm like Roland Berger partners with UAE Crypto Oasis, a Middle East focused Blockchain Ecosystem supported by initiators of Crypto Valley Switzerland.

As per the announcement, Roland Berger will bring forward its talents and resources to propel the Blockchain ecosystem to new heights in the MENA region and globally. Roland Berger was one of the first to herald in a crypto economy advisory practice out of the UAE.

The partnership comes at a time when UAE Crypto Oasis is now targeting 1500 Blockchain crypto entities to enter the UAE after UAE reached the target of 1000 blockchain and crypto entities before the end of 2022.

Roland Berger has been working with several clients in the region. They are strategic advisors to the biggest blockchain crypto projects in the region including the largest Bitcoin mining facility in MENA as well as the set-up of a tokenized green asset exchange.

The combination of both Crypto Oasis disruptive ecosystem and Roland Berger’s strong association with governments and corporates and commercial and technical knowhow is explosive.

Pierre Samaties, one of the partners in charge of leading the global Crypto Economy team for Roland Berger, stated: “Crypto Oasis has a strong ecosystem network of organizations that are breakthrough innovators and are leapfrogging ahead. We have witnessed their explosive growth in the past few months. As we assist companies in their journey towards the crypto economy, it is vital to have access to the latest innovation and talent in this fast moving space”. “We believe that with Crypto Oasis’ core values of infrastructure, talent, and capital, we can integrate alliances in their unique Ecosystem and transform the crypto economy landscape” added Feroz Sanaulla, Partner and global Co-head of the Crypto Economy team.

“We are delighted to welcome Roland Berger as our newest global strategic partner”, commented Ralf Glabischnig, Founder of Crypto Oasis. “Our Ecosystem members will have access to their world-class management consultancy that will support them as they embrace the opportunities to transform their business and utilize Blockchain solutions. With Roland Berger’s strong presence among governments and corporations, we expect this partnership to help us develop meaningful connections with them. As they step further into the Blockchain economy we will be working together to release thought leadership reports to further educate and inform the market of this ever growing and evolving ecosystem”.