e&-Backed Nawy Acquires Stake in SmartCrowd to Enter GCC Market

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALJuly 10, 2025 at 9:53 AM UTC

TLDR

Cairo-based PropTech firm Nawy has acquired a majority stake in SmartCrowd, marking its official entry into the GCC market
The deal adds fractional real estate investing to Nawy’s platform and strengthens its presence across the Middle East and Africa
Nawy’s expansion follows a $52 million Series A round backed by e& Capital, Partech, March Capital, DPI, and others

Cairo-based PropTech firm Nawy has acquired a majority stake in SmartCrowd, marking its official entry into the GCC market. The deal adds fractional real estate investing to Nawy’s platform and strengthens its presence across the Middle East and Africa.

SmartCrowd, founded in 2018 and based in Dubai, is the first regulated platform for fractional property investment in the UAE. The company enables users to co-invest in premium income-generating properties from as little as $150. To date, it has facilitated $110 million in transactions and distributed over $40 million in rental income and capital gains.

Nawy’s expansion follows a $52 million Series A round backed by e& Capital, Partech, March Capital, DPI, and others, part of a $75 million total fundraise to build a full-stack real estate super-app. Its ecosystem includes property listings, mortgage services (Nawy Now), fractional ownership (Nawy Shares), asset enhancement (Nawy Unlocked), and a brokerage network (Nawy Partners).

The acquisition gives Nawy access to a fast-growing UAE market, where real estate investment is projected to reach $33 billion by 2030, driven by tokenization and cross-border participation.

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Key Takeaways

Nawy’s acquisition of SmartCrowd positions it as a serious contender for leadership in the MENA PropTech space. The move aligns with rising demand for fractional ownership and digital-first investment tools, especially as real estate becomes more accessible through fintech-enabled platforms. SmartCrowd brings regulatory credibility, cross-border user growth, and proven returns, with over 50 exited properties and an average 30% ROI on its Flip product. For Nawy, this adds an investment engine to its broader real estate offerings, completing its super-app vision. With over 1 million monthly users and $3 billion in GMV, Nawy is leveraging capital, strategic acquisitions, and technology to scale regionally. The integration of SmartCrowd gives it a presence in Dubai’s high-value market while advancing a pan-MENA playbook for end-to-end property services — from financing to co-investing. As tokenization and real estate digitization accelerate across the region, platforms like Nawy are poised to become central infrastructure for next-gen property investors.

Startup

Nawy

Proptech

Real Estate

SmartCrowd

Dubai

UAE