DMCC, TDeFi to support Web3, blockchain firms

Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has joined forces with TDeFi, a Web3 incubator and consultancy firm, to offer a new accelerator programme for Web3 and blockchain companies in Dubai.

The accelerator programme, which aims to attract new crypto companies to Dubai, will offer mentorship and sessions on a range of topics related to crypto and scaling a business at the DMCC Crypto Centre.

The month-long programme will run for a minimum of two editions over the next 12 months, with interested companies receiving priority guidance and services from DMCC to formally set up at the Crypto Centre. The centre is a comprehensive ecosystem for companies that develop Web3 and blockchain technologies and offers crypto businesses and entrepreneurs solutions to set up and scale their operations.​​​​​​

“Through its Crypto Centre, DMCC has established a leading ecosystem of Web3 and blockchain businesses, and so there is no better place for us to operate our latest accelerator programme,” said Gaurav Dubey, CEO of TDeFi in a statement.

TDeFi will select a ‘handful of startups to be part of its in-depth incubation programme at the end of each cohort and it will provide them with access to additional TDeFi advisory services and its growing ecosystem.

DMCC has partnered with @TDe_Fi to offer an accelerator progamme dedicated to #web3 and #blockchain companies at our state-of-the-art facilities. The programme will provide our #crypto members with access to mentorship and entrepreneurship opportunities: https://t.co/X29fleLq1E pic.twitter.com/o3FfQ41A5R

— DMCC Crypto Centre (@dmcccrypto) February 24, 2023

DMCC Crypto Centre is currently home to over 550 members, making it the largest concentration of Web3 and blockchain companies in the MENA region.

The centre partnered with the global venture capital firm Brinc last October to provide Web3 and blockchain companies with access to a $150m accelerator fund.

The Wall Street of Crypto
The UAE has been pushing to develop virtual asset regulation to attract new forms of business as part of a broader strategy to scale up its digital economy. Dubai has grown into the Wall Street of the crypto world over the years as the Middle East’s business and financial hub has been working to lure companies into the crypto ecosystem with its crypto-friendly policies.

“By providing everything crypto businesses and entrepreneurs need to thrive, we have emphatically positioned Dubai as a leading hub for crypto,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the executive chairman and CEO of DMCC in the statement.

Read: Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority issues regulations for 2023

Dubai adopted its first law governing virtual assets and established Virtual Asset​s Regulatory Authority (VARA) as a regulator for the sector nearly a year ago. Since then, several crypto firms including Binance, Kraken, BitOasis, Rain as well as Bybit and Crypto.com have received virtual asset licenses to operate in the UAE.

Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm, said that according to its Sub-saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia sections, Dubai has become a hub for crypto companies that serve customers all across Asia and Africa, not just in the Middle East.

The UAE is the Middle East’s fifth-largest crypto market with a transaction volume of around $48bn between July 2021 and June 2022, according to data compiled by the platform.

In other news, around $37.4bn worth of diamonds were traded last year in the UAE in 2022, ranking the country as the top rough trading hub in the world. Since 2015, the UAE has increased its rough diamonds trade by 76 per cent.

Also read: Dubai’s DMCC sees 17% rise in diamond trade in 2022