SmartCrowd expands Into Saudi Arabia
Mita Srinivasan
10x Industry
Published:

SmartCrowd expands Into Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's residential real estate market is an untapped sector offering an excellent opportunity for regional and global investors, with forecasted market growth (CAGR) of more than 9.74 percent between 2022 - 2027. Valued at SAR 156bn in 2021, the real estate market is expected to grow significantly, in line with the country's Vision 2030, the rapid pace of new developments, and the Kingdom's ongoing efforts to diversify its economy away from reliance on oil and gas revenues.

SmartCrowd Holdings, a regional pioneer in fractional real estate investments, has been granted a FinTech experimental permit by the Saudi Capital Markets Authority (CMA). Currently headquartered in Abu Dhabi as part of Hub71's tech ecosystem, SmartCrowd's expansion into Saudi Arabia aligns with its mission of making real estate investing more accessible to the masses by enabling individuals to invest in income-generating properties collectively.

SmartCrowd is currently working on completing business requirements for the upcoming launch of its Real Estate Funds Distribution Platform, making alternative assets accessible to the general public within Saudi Arabia soon.

The company said in a statement that Saudi Arabia's residential real estate market is an immense untapped sector offering an excellent opportunity for regional and global investors, with forecasted market growth (CAGR) of more than 9.74 percent between 2022 - 2027. Valued at SAR 156bn in 2021 by Knight Frank, the real estate market is expected to grow significantly, in line with the country's Vision 2030, the rapid pace of new developments, and the Kingdom's ongoing efforts to diversify its economy away from reliance on oil and gas revenues.

SmartCrowd CEO and Co-Founder, Siddiq Farid said, "With the newly granted Saudi license, SmartCrowd has solidified its position as a major regional player. In line with increasing demand and investor appetite for diversified real estate opportunities, SmartCrowd will continue to introduce innovative products and enter new regional markets."

Since its inception, the platform has funded over 75 properties worth over AED65M, distributed over AED 3.2M in rental income, and recently exited an investment property with a total return of 39.25 percent, demonstrating a complete investment cycle. SmartCrowd is also one of the few wealth-tech platforms in the region that has generated tangible returns to its investors with a 65 percent re-investment rate.

SmartCrowd's platform users are 80 percent UAE-based. The remaining 20 percent come from all over the world, even as far as New Zealand and Australia, and are using SmartCrowd to build a diversified real estate portfolio.