World Trade Company raises $8m in pre-Series A funding

The platform allows users to buy and auction off digital content using non-fungible tokens on leading NFT marketplaces around the globe

World Trade Company, the non-fungible token (NFT) start-up that enables individuals to invest overseas, announced a pre-Series A funding of $8 million to support its rapid growth into new markets, seeing a future where digital collectibles and goods take over the internet.

The company secured the funding collectively from Pajson Global Holding and Sanctum Pte. Ltd. earlier this month.

Pulkit Jain, founder and CEO of Pajson Global Holding, a leading conglomerate in Dubai with diversified interest in steel, agriculture, petroleum, shipping and tech start-ups, believes NFTs are here to stay, and early entrants in the field will make the most of it. Jain will bring forth entrepreneurial experience to take the firm to the next level as one of the board members.

Abhay Aggarwal, founder of World Trade Company, asserted that their platform allows users to buy and auction off digital content using NFTs on leading NFT marketplaces globally.

Aggarwal holds IP rights and trades it over the global marketplace. Aggarwal expects his user base to cross $35 million in sales on their platform during the 2021-2022 period.

NFT start-ups have raised major sums in recent months as investors coalesced around backing early players in the digital collectibles space. This stands in stark contrast to most digital creations, which are almost always infinite in supply. Rico Pang, chief investment officer of Sanctum Pte. Ltd., said, “Hypothetically, cutting off the supply should raise the value of a given asset, assuming it’s in demand.”

Dunstan Teo, who has been appointed as chief strategy officer at WTC’s NFT market place — Colexion, explained that they have been watching the digital space for the past few years including global business leaders’ interest in this space as the market for digital goods may depend heavily on further adoption among gaming/entertainment giants and larger media organisations.

“But early on there’s hope that digital-first creators can use these marketplaces to connect more directly with fans and begin to bypass the massive platforms they depend on now,” he further added.

Anurag Chaturvedi, CEO of Chartered House, and advisor to World Trade Company, believes the market structure for NFTs will evolve in the future because many people who don’t necessarily want to spend tonnes of money on an NFT, but want to dip their toes in it, can buy an NFT from people they admire, like an influencer from OTT platforms such as Netflix and Amazon.

Aggarwal has signed up with number of celebrities on their platforms in the past few months, from sports to movie stars and artists to gamers, to allow their users to buy NFTs, which place them ahead in the global digital trade. Aggarwal believes NFTs expands the economy, especially in entertainment industries with lower transaction costs.