Nawy Shares Nears Launch with Key Dubai Compliance Milestone

SmartCrowd, which sits under the wider Nawy umbrella, has taken another step forward after its tokenised real estate arm, Nawy Shares, gained an In-Principle Approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA). It’s not full authorisation just yet, but it is the last major checkpoint before the company ticks off the remaining licensing requirements.

If you’ve spent any time around founders in the region, you know how much this kind of regulatory nod matters. Dubai has been working hard to position itself as a safe but ambitious home for digital finance, and moves like this underline that point rather neatly. That said, regulation can be a bit of a faff, so reaching this stage is no small win.

SmartCrowd made its name by launching what was widely seen as the region’s first regulated real estate crowdfunding platform. Over the years, it’s helped open the property market to smaller investors who were previously priced out. With Nawy Shares, the company is now leaning into tokenisation — essentially slicing real-world property into blockchain-based units to make ownership more accessible, transparent and, in theory at least, easier to trade.

The numbers give some context here. The platform has already recorded more than AED 220 million in exits, with plans for over AED 500 million worth of transactions lined up for 2026. From where I’m standing, it feels like a logical next chapter rather than a sudden pivot.

Adham Moshasha, Chief Growth Officer at SmartCrowd, described the approval as a pivotal step, pointing to the company’s long-standing focus on operating within strict regulatory standards while still pushing innovation forward. He also noted that tokenisation isn’t a shiny new idea for the team, but an evolution of the fractional ownership model they were backing well before it became fashionable.

Mostafa El Beltagy, CEO and co-founder of Nawy, echoed that sentiment, saying the milestone with Nawy Shares in Dubai marks an early move towards a more digitised property ecosystem, where physical assets can become liquid and transactions happen almost instantly. He credited the emirate’s progressive regulatory environment for making that ambition realistic.

At Arageek, we often hear founders say that trust is everything, especally when real estate and new tech collide. Full authorisation is still ahead, but once that comes through, Nawy Shares is expected to move towards launch, further tightening the link between property, technology and regulated digital finance in the UAE. I reckon this space is only going to get busier — and that’s not a bad thing, you know?

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