StartupRealities

Startup No 183 - StartupRealities 2020 series OpenSEZ is a real estate and industrial park developer which creates and operates Special Economic Zones (SEZ) on greenfield sites. The SEZ have the backing of national governments and offer preferential tax treatment, autonomous rule of law, subsidised healthcare, free education and free internet for all residents and employees in the SEZ. Key geographical areas of interest for the company are unpopulated border zones along the coast of Africa, so that each SEZ straddles two jurisdictions. This creates a healthy internal competition between the two national sections of the SEZ, which are run autonomously and often under different rules and legislation. The SEZ also aim to be self-sufficient in energy (generated by solar panel farms in the vicinity) and water (produced using new energy-efficient osmosis desalination technology). CEO QUOTE "Our company's name is OpenSEZ but we are popularly known as Open Sesame! We create miracles o...

Startup No 173 - StartupRealities 2020 series SovereignBroker is an international land auctioneer which procures territory from independent states and sells it at auction to other states for non-military use. This allows unlocking the value of key territories, e.g. strategically located islands which can serve as deep sea ports or special economic zones (SEZ). Examples of sovereign land purchases in history abound, including vast tracts of land such as Alaska (purchased by the US from Russia in 1867) and small territories such as the strategic Pakistani port of Gwadar (purchased by Pakistan from Oman in 1958). CEO QUOTE "Our biggest project so far is the 2,060 sq km Bir Tawil territory between Egypt and Sudan. As neither country claims this land, both countries stand to benefit from our redevelopment of the territory into a SEZ with its own airport, land transport links, solar power plants, mining and manufacturing facilities and greenhouses for agricultural produce. Liberta...