Animoca Brands Corporation Ltd is expanding its presence in the Middle Eastern and Asian markets with new investments in Saudi-based NFT marketplace Nuqtah and Hong Kong-based engagement out-of-home (EOOH) player, SmartRetail Group.
In Japan, the company’s Japanese subsidiary Animoca Brands K.K has committed to making a strategic investment into SmartRetail with the support of its shareholder and Japan's largest bank MUFG Bank Ltd.
Meanwhile, Nuqtah, Saudi Arabia’s first NFT marketplace platform, has raised a seed round of funding led by Animoca Brands with participation from Polygon and regional investors.
SmartRetail investment
Animoca’s strategic investment in SmartRetail offers disruptive action-based advertising technology, anonymous facial recognition technology and consumer insights solutions to retailer partners that include convenience stores, petrol stations, vending machines and others.
Consequently, this enables the partners to monetise consumer traffic through valuable external advertising actions that generate immediate in-store incentives for the consumers.
Notably, SmartRetail has partnerships with many blue-chip clients across Asia, including in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan.
Animoca Japan co-founder Kyoya Okazawa said: “As post-COVID activity is in full swing and people return to the streets, the retail media business is expanding rapidly in Japan.
“We are pleased to have the opportunity to invest in SmartRetail, which already has a strong track record in the retail media business using digital signage in vending machines, train stations, retail stores and gas stations.
“Through this investment, Animoca Brands Japan will continue to support SmartRetail's expansion into Japan and pave the way for Retail Media to integrate with Web3, creating new possibilities for consumer engagement and incentives.”
Seed funding for Nuqtah
Nuqtah is the first NFT marketplace in Saudi Arabia and the first to be licensed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Investment.
It aims to empower its creators, businesses and users to unlock the new opportunities that the Web3 space offers to the region.
With funding from Animoca, Nuqtah is now uniquely positioned to empower local artists and technical talent to foster the development of a vibrant Web3 industry in Saudi Arabia and the broader region.
Yat Siu added: “Our investment into Nuqtah is another meaningful step in our commitment to build up the Web3 industry in MENA as well as develop our 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.
“We will continue to expand our operational presence and collaborate with local strategic partners looking to adopt Web3.”