‘We want to be the trust layer of housing’: How trust, data, and finance are driving the next era of proptech in Dubai

Dubai’s real estate market is often viewed through launches, demand, and new developments. But another shift is taking shape alongside that growth. Proptech is moving closer to the centre of the market, as companies look at how real estate can become easier to manage, easier to pay for, and more reliable for everyone involved. In a recent episode of the Live, Work & Play in Dubai podcast series, Rakesh Mavath, CEO and Co-founder of Takeem, described that shift in simple terms: “We want to be the trust layer for housing.”

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Proptech is moving closer to core market needs
For Mavath, proptech is not only about a better interface or another app. It is about solving real friction in a market that is already large and active. “We’ve systemised the trust in the whole life cycle of renting,” he said. That includes helping landlords get paid on time and giving tenants more flexibility in how they pay. In the last year, Takeem says it onboarded more than 55,000 units, covering about Dh5 billion of annual rent.


The rental market is one part of this wider proptech picture. Mavath said 70% of Dubai’s population rents, and rental payments in 2025 alone reached Dh126 billion. That scale makes the segment important not only for housing, but also for the platforms, data, and risk tools being built around it. For a market like Dubai, this shows that proptech is not sitting at the edges of real estate anymore. It is becoming more central to how the sector runs.

Execution is shaping the funding conversation
Mavath also linked Dubai’s proptech momentum to a more focused funding environment. He said Takeem’s backing from Reach Middle East, supported by Second Century Ventures, was an important signal for the company and for the wider category. He also noted that proptech was the third-most funded industry last year.

His main point on fundraising, however, was about what investors want to see now. “It wasn’t the vision; it was the execution,” he said. He added, “It’s not about vision; it’s about execution and being able to back up your premise with data and with numbers that you have proven yourself.”

That also comes through in his comments on Indian investors. Mavath said Indian investors are coming into the market not only as homeowners, but also as startup backers, and that they are “very savvy,” “very data-oriented,” and “very transparency-oriented.” He also pointed to growing activity from family offices, especially in the Dubai International Financial Centre ecosystem. That points to a broader shift in Dubai’s real estate market, where value is increasingly being created not only through property ownership, but through the platforms, transaction systems, and trust layers building around the sector.

Sandboxes and policy access are helping founders move faster
One of the strongest parts of the conversation was Mavath’s view of how Dubai supports early-stage companies. He said regulation should not be seen as a hurdle. “I think it’s actually a feature, not a bug,” he said. In his view, if founders can show how their solution supports market stability, “the amount of doors that are opened, the amount of support that you get, it’s not an obstacle; it’s actually a moat for your startup.”

He also spoke about the value of early access. Takeem has engaged with programmes and platforms such as Create Apps in Dubai, Dubai Sandbox, the Real Estate Evolution Space initiative (REES) by the Dubai Land Department (DLD), and the Dubai PropTech Business Group (DXB PropTech) by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce. This reflects the wider support available to early-stage proptech firms in Dubai. However, the larger point is not the list of programmes; it is the ease of access behind them. “All these doors are open to everyone,” Mavath said. He added that “when they talk about an open-door policy, it literally is an open-door policy.”

That kind of access matters in proptech because it shortens the distance between product ideas, regulatory feedback, and real market use. Mavath’s advice was clear: “Create that relationship with regulators before you need it.” He also said founders should “frame every conversation around market stability” because that helps align a startup’s goals with the wider goals of the market.

Business in Dubai rewards relationships and the long view
Beyond product and policy, Mavath said success in Dubai also depends on how companies approach the market itself. His first advice to businesses entering the city was to understand the culture before trying to change it. “Dubai is not a blank canvas where you can bring what you were doing in another country and expect it to work here,” he said.

He then made a point that goes beyond proptech. “The relationship economy here is real,” Mavath said. “The trust is built over face to face, over time, over coffees, over iftars and suhoors.” In other words, business in Dubai is not only about speed. It is also about consistency, visibility, and earning trust over time.

His second tip was to stay close to the customer. “Be incredibly customer focused because the customers will tell you well before anything else on what your product needs or what the market is demanding of you,” he said. The third was about patience. “You’ve got to play the long game in Dubai.”

He framed that longer view in broader terms, too. “Dubai is a place of opportunity and ambition,” he said. “You can literally see an opportunity here and build it. It’s that simple.” That mix of openness, relationship depth, and long-term thinking also helps explain why founders and early-stage firms from markets such as India are already finding room in Dubai’s proptech ecosystem.

The next phase brings rentals and finance closer
Looking ahead, Mavath believes the next stage of proptech in Dubai will come when rental systems connect more closely with financial infrastructure. “The next frontier, I think, is when rental infrastructure meets financial infrastructure,” he said. In practical terms, he sees room for stronger layers around insurance, credit scoring, and longer-term financial planning.

That matters because rentals are not a side market in Dubai. They are a major part of how the city lives and works. Mavath’s view is that making renting more legible, stable, and trusted can also improve the wider real estate market.

A five-year view shaped by speed and trust
Mavath’s longer-term view is centred on making real estate feel easier, faster, and more dependable. He said the “gold star” would be a market where “the anxiety, the mistrust, the friction in the whole process is no longer there,” and where the experience “takes five minutes.” The kind of real estate experience he wants to see is built around “speed, transparency, stability, trust.”

That vision already aligns with how Dubai is evolving as a market. As property connects more closely with payments, data, and digital services, proptech is becoming a bigger part of how the sector operates. Dubai’s next phase in real estate is being defined not only by new development, but by how efficiently and seamlessly the wider system works around it.

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