The DAOLaunch team visited Dubai from the 14th to the 22nd of October 2021 in a week we can only describe as eventful. 

We visited Dubai for 3 primary reasons. 1. To meet and network with like minds and startups at the Crypto Expo Dubai . 2. To recruit some of the brightest startups at Gitex   to join DAOLaunch. 3. To register an official DAOLaunch entity in Dubai as the country open its arms to crypto startups with awesome benefits included. 

The Crypto Expo Dubai 

Our voyage into the City of Gold started with a visit to the Crypto Expo Dubai which aims to connect investors and startups into this growing ecosystem with an amazing networking-focused conference. The biggest crypto event in the Middle East hosted visitors from all corners of the globe. We laughed with the Polish, exchanged business cards with the Indians, giggled with the Russians – the list goes on! A lot of attendees flew from different countries to physically be at the conference, just like the DAOLaunch Founder and CEO, Sakuro Imayama who flew in from Japan, and the company’s Head of Marketing and PR, Kaletso Phiri coming in from South Africa. It was amazing seeing the different nationalities, creeds, and people all coming together for one goal – the advancement of crypto. With over 8000 visitors present and more than 60 companies exhibiting, we can attest to its unique and amazing experience. 

The #CED also had a fair share of Lamborghinis at the entrance which we all know is cryptos’ favorite sportscar! 

GITEX TECH WEEK 

Gitex, marketed as one of the biggest tech events in the world, aimed to showcase the world’s leading technology innovations. The UAE has not only become one of the world’s leading tourist destinations, but it has slowly started pivoting to one of the world’s leading tech hubs – and it’s paying off. The Gitex Tech Week was attended by H.E. Omar Sultan Al Olama who leads the Ministry of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications which was a great show of support to the event and its attendees. 

DAOLaunch met with key investors and startups that we would like to see coming onboard our platform to raise much-needed capital. One of our key founding beliefs is that in order to make the crypto market more competitive, we need to onboard amazing fiat companies. Whilst crypto has an amazing set of creative startups, its adoption has the ability to be accepted faster if more companies that are fiat join the ranks.

There are many fiat startups that are looking for a way to bridge into crypto, be it through the raising of funds or offering crypto/blockchain-related services to their userbase but they are not targeted by crypto companies to make the bridge. The market is, unfortunately, very “crypto or go home” without realizing that these companies require teaching, support, and to a fair extent, convincing.  

It’s very easy to explain what a launchpad and decentralized venture capital project is to a crypto startup looking to raise capital, but it is quite an interesting journey explaining it to a fiat startup. This is why DAOLaunch will be creating guides and explanatory material that will educate some of the brightest fiat companies about crypto and the importance of jumping into this new technology now instead of later. We will also be offering them community and networking support. It’s very easy to fall out of interest in anything if you’re not in the circles or constantly informed about that world. 

We spoke to some of the brightest fiat companies and the world, and we are currently talking to a lot of them about the onboarding process, as well as educating them about the crypto world. We are excited about announcing them when we’ve completed their onboarding, so stay tuned!

 Cool Gitex Stands 

Whilst we didn’t visit Gitex for the cars, we couldn’t help but fanboy over the Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR car.

The Vision AVTR Car by Mercedes Benz

Is it a car, or a spaceship, or an Avacar? It looks ethereal and definitely takes our pic for the hottest piece of tech at the show. 

The Robody by Devathro

We had what felt like a full conversation with Devathros Robody. The AI wing at Gitex showcased some of the world’s most advanced AI companies and Devanthro’s Robody was one of the more exciting stands. 

We told Devanthro where we are from and he/she remarked that they had spoken to someone else from the same country and also offered us a hug. 

Devanthro’s vision is to build robodies as agile, dexterous, and elegant as the human body, but without its fragility – so that one day, we can live as these robodies and stay curious indefinitely.

The Importance of Embracing the Crypto Community

It can be said that crypto is one of the most remote professions in the world. With teams that often don’t work a set time mainly because they’re scattered across the globe in different timezones, it has been remote from the beginning. There’s something relieving about actually seeing people. Touching, talking, laughing, and really mingling with people in the cryptoverse is a whole new experience. 

The world needs to embrace crypto at a greater level than crypto-friendly announcements that are more branding-focused than legislature and law-related. By creating laws that are crypto-friendly and an ecosystem that allows these startups to thrive, countries will attract some of the most high-impact crypto startups in the world.

DAOLaunch has since registered a legal entity in Dubai that will favor our growth without fear or being sidelines by governments that aren’t pro-crypto. 

Additionally, it’s amazing being surrounded by people that are in the same universe that are fighting to achieve the same goal! In a remote world, the good old face-to-face “Hello, how are you?” feels refreshing. It feels like an adventure of its own. We met people and startups that we would not be able to meet if we had done the conferences remotely. 

Dubai From the Eyes of DAOLaunch

What’s a travel-style blog without pictures of food and the horizon? We know that you’ve probably seen multiple pictures of Dubai, but these are images of the beautiful Emirate from our eyes. 

Special Thanks
We would like to extend a special thank you to our investor and advisor, Wasim Fukase, who is based in Dubai and dedicated his time to ensuring DAOLaunch has the best on-the-ground experience during our stay.