By Sam Mahdavi / MAGNiTT - Image Credit: MAGNiTT
Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have fast become a hot trend that boomed in 2017. Only recently have they started appearing in the MENA region. To date, the fundraising method of choice for most startups across the region has been from Venture Capitalist, Angels and Institutions.
However, we have heard and seen more interest in the ICO model in the region. Recently there has been around $15m of disclosed funds raised through ICOs across MENA.
We take a look at some of the startups that have successfully raised and are raising ICOs in the Middle-East. We watch and anticipate this area to continue to grow.
Are you raising an ICO? Let us know and we will include you in the list below! Email us [email protected]
MENA Startups Using ICOs to Raise Funding
Click on their names to check out their profiles on MAGNiTT.
Launched by Yazin Alirhayim in 2017, Verify is a Dubai-based cryptocurrency startup. Having successfully exited their first startup of White Payments to Payfort, their plan with Verify is to create a system for tracking and tabulating the reputation of buyers and sellers, which will add a layer of transparency to the process of transacting in the largely faceless world of cryptocurrencies.
In December 2017, Verify announced that they had raised $2.5 million in an ICO.
Alirhayim said that the funds raised would help Verify develop an e-commerce payments platform designed to make it easier to buy and sell cryptocurrencies.
637
$2.92 M
$3.23 K
Founded in August 2017 by Ian Viner, Charles Voltron, and Rushabh Shah, Coinlancer is a blockchain platform for effective freelancing and secure peer-to-peer exchanges.
The Ajman-based startup operates as a freelancing platform using cryptocurrency. It announced in October 2017 that they had ” launched a 300-million initial coin offering (ICO) seen to raise at least $50 million.” The sale ended on November 14, 2017.
657
$2.59 M
$8.54 K
Established in early 2017 by Tariq Al Wahedi, CryptoBnb is a vacation rentals marketplace built to improve short-term rental experiences for hosts, guests and service providers worldwide.
The Dubai-based startup is powered by blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data and has recently launched its own ICO.
Founded by Ibrahim Mohammed, Dubai-based startup OneGram is the first gold backed and Shari'ah compliant cryptocurrency in the world based on the blockchain technology.
OneGram has already launched its initial coin offering which aims to raise more than US$500 million in capital. Mohammed believes that his startup’s uniqueness, the fact that the currency is fully Sharia-compliant, will help him differentiate from the 100s of new coins released every day.