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Property technology or proptech in short, hasn't been the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's forte so far, but tech's way ahead looks bright as new investments, novel initiatives and rapid adoption are becoming today's trends.
A Policy Push
Per Crunchbase, proptech investments in MENA totalled over USD294 million since 2009.A majority of these proptech startups are based in the UAE, the hub for proptech innovations in the MENA region.
Along with its recent announcement of a national programme to train 100,000 coders and set up 1,000 digital companies in a span of five years, the middle eastern hub also aims to increase startup investment from Dhs1.5 billion to Dhs4 billion.
What's Working?
Two things - enablement and alternate sources of funding.
These act as proptech ‘enablers’ by investing in or developing their in-house technology solutions to differentiate their products, gain competitive advantage and become market leaders in the region.
On the alternate funding bit, banks are taking a backseat as venture capitalists, startup accelerator programs, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending are taking over financing duties.
Are There Challenges?
There have to be. Here are the biggest of them:
- Legal Frameworks - As technology advances ahead of regulations, especially with the integration of new data systems and algorithms, concerns are raised on how best to regulate data and data ownership.
- Unclear Operational Structure - Lack of long-term management commitment to a successful proptech strategy/transformation is another hurdle that managers and leaders need to overcome to ensure business continuity.
- Tech That Actually Helps - Proptech startups are often too invested in the technology itself and its features that they miss out on delivering it with a customer-centric perspective.
Tags:
PropTech