Animoca Brands is continuing its recent web3 push into the Middle East with significant funding of NFT platform Nuqtah.

Increasingly ubiquitous in the crypto/blockchain space, Hong Kong-based investor and open-metaverse projects incubator Animoca Brands” is leading a seed-round capital raise for the platform – the first non-fungible token marketplace developed and launched in Saudi Arabia.

The round also sees participation from another crypto giant, Polygon – one of the leading “layer 2” Ethereum platforms in the space – as well as a slew of regional Middle Eastern investors.

According to info shared with Stockhead, the cash injection will be used by Nuqtah to help scale up its business over the next 12 months with a focus on product development, marketing and talent acquisition.

What makes Nuqtah unique?

Nuqtah is of note, as mentioned, for the fact it’s a Saudi Arabian web3 outfit, but also because it’s the first NFT platform to be officially licensed by the kingdom’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Investment.

Strong regulatory backing in the current global environment? That’s worth its weight in gold for a crypto startup anywhere in the world.

Saudi Arabia is regarded as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, as is the MENA region as a whole, and it’s becoming increasingly tech focused and open to digital innovation – so there’s that, too.

 

Members of the Nuqtah NFT platform. Pic: Supplied (Animoca)

And what, or more accurately who, also stands out, is the CEO and founder of the platform.

An award-winning photographer, artist, and blockchain advocate, Salwa Radwi is one of the first female CEOs in Saudi Arabia’s Web3 landscape.

Radwi launched Nuftaq in 2021 in Riyadh with co-founders who have previously worked at major companies including Careem and Oracle.

‘Massive potential and opportunities in the Middle East’

Regarding the fresh investment into her firm, Radwi noted: “Watching Animoca Brands pioneer and enable the Web3 scene since day one has been so inspirational, and so we take great pride in the trust placed in Nuqtah through this investment. We look forward to working together to unlock the massive potential and opportunities in the Middle East.”

Yat Siu, the executive chairman and co-founder of Animoca Brands, added: “Our investment into Nuqtah is another meaningful step in our commitment to build up the Web3 industry in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) as well as develop our own capabilities in the region.

“Nuqtah is an important pioneer and we anticipate that it will greatly help to boost Web3 and NFT adoption in the Middle East.”

 This article was developed in collaboration with Animoca Brands, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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