Eros Investment has partnered with Dubai World Trade Centre Authority (DWTCA) to operate under Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). The aim of the partnership is to enable growth of the web 3.0 industry and associated blockchain businesses from Dubai as the hub.
For Helal Saeed Almarri, director general, DWTCA, for any industry to be a sustainable contributor to the new economy, governments should provide guard rails in a legitimate environment so that businesses can innovate, and consumers can experience. “To this end, Dubai’s VARA is committed to building a secure market environment that can deliver a ‘technology and sector agnostic’ economy. We are already witnessing the mass proliferation of blockchain, and the migration to web 3.0. We find in Eros, alignment in objectives to create a decentralised framework for the creative, lifestyle and media industries, and are looking forward to partnering with their global value chain partners to design scalable models for the metaverse,” he stated.
As part of the collaboration, Eros Investments will launch a fund to enable startups and small and medium enterprises (SME) across web 3.0 and blockchain by 2025 in DWTCA, with industry-shapers in information and communications technology (ICT) and content distribution. Eros’ investee portfolio and all affliates to seek to be VARA licensed and operate the ‘fully regulated, decentralised DLT platform’ for the global media, art and entertainment industry, from Dubai. Further, Xfinite will join a vetted shortlist of international participants in the VARA MVP programme, and build towards the mass market Virtual Asset Exchange (VAX) License. VARA will also engage Eros in building secure IP guardrails to foster fair creative industry participation, scaling direct connectivity between global talent, content aggregators, and the audience.
According to Kishore Lulla, chairman, Eros Investments, Almarri will participate in this incubation ecosystem that the VARA has established to accelerate the global blockchain and web3 revolution from Dubai. “Last week’s opening of the VARA MetaHQ has already seen growing interest from our industry partners to participate in this environment with us, so we build the future of our industry together with Dubai,” he added.