SmartCrowd, MENA’s First & Only Regulated Real Estate Investments Platform Graduates from DFSA’s ITL and obtains a full license
- November 12, 2019

Siddiq Farid, co-founder and CEO of SmartCrowd said:
“Obtaining the DFSA license is a testament of our hard work and commitment to this market. We are excited about the new opportunities this license offers and are ready to expand our footprint. From day one, our strategy was to make real estate investments accessible and hassle-free – and we’re doing just that. During the past two years, both new and experienced investors have been drawn to our platform because of its ability to diversify their investments and reduce their exposure to risk.”
Raja Al Mazrouei, Executive Vice President of FinTech Hive said:
“This achievement is a testament to the effectiveness of the ecosystem we have in place to enable innovative financial services to grow from the UAE and scale globally.”
“SmartCrowd, by obtaining its DFSA License, marks the next step in their growth to becoming MENA’s first regulated real estate investment platform. Their niche product, the team and their capabilities has demonstrated that it is poised to engage with a wider clientele-base and offer a more diverse international portfolio. At 500 Startups, our mission is to back such startups and help them scale their business. As one of the early investors, we look forward to SmartCrowd leading the way in fractional real estate investments in the region and beyond.”
“We are tremendously proud of and excited for SmartCrowd’s achievements. We anticipated a long and arduous journey of adapting to the regulatory framework in the region for SmartCrowd but always had strong confidence in Siddiq and his A+ team. Today, SmartCrowd is the first and only financially regulated real estate digital investment platform in the MENA region and gives the general population access to an otherwise exclusive asset class - real estate. We are humbled to have been a part of this journey and will continue to support Smart Crowd with full strength. We challenge SmartCrowd to open up the properties in the Middle East to foreign investors who have recently developed keen interest in the real estate market here but just couldn't find a transparent, reliable platform to do so.”
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude and appreciation to all our early investors for believing in us when this was just a nascent concept. You are part of our story. The SmartCrowd community is growing every day and we are humbled to help people in their journey towards financial freedom,” added Siddiq.
About SmartCrowd
SmartCrowd is a digital real estate investment platform which provides the opportunity to buy and sell shares in properties, reducing barriers to entry to low-middle income households to build financial assets and generate investment income. SmartCrowd caters to most people who find it hard to get on the property ladder to build a diversified portfolio and “unlock their wealth potential”.