Najib Khanafer

Born in Gambia and raised in Lebanon, 32 years young. I’ve been passionate about technology all my life and worked in cyber security and data governance for more than 10 years with banks, insurance, and retail companies. I stayed in my comfort zone until adversity really hit us hard in Lebanon. We were struck by a financial crisis. All our money was stolen. This was a result of negligence and corruption by authorities for more than 30 years. Then we were hit by an explosion that destroyed a sizable part of Beirut, my house included. And I was there. So, this was the switch for me to really shake things up in my life. I was done working for suits and ties in an industry that doesn’t give me the right recognition. When I realized that we were being hit hard by the financial crisis, I took whatever money I can take from the Bank and put it in Crypto. One of my very good friends, Co-Founder @OasisX as well, Ramsey, was like “I'm making you quit your job.” Interest in blockchain and NFTs turned into long conversations until we built the framework for OasisX (@Oasisx_world). At a local blockchain event, we were then joined by our third co-founder, Jimmy. Life has been much better ever since. I wake up now with a completely different mindset. OasisX came about for a few good reasons. We know how rich the Middle East is in culture and artists. We're being sourced from all around the world to create and curate digital art, photography, and fashion shows. If you look at Opensea or Foundation, you’ll see they’re already saturated with creators. To get the right recognition there, you either must spend all your time on social media self-promoting and/or you must have a boatload of money to market yourself. It would take a lot to be recognized for who you are and the ideas that you represent in an organic way. So, we thought about building a platform that serves the creative culture in the region, for artists to be properly represented. We have the knowledge, experience, and team to make this happen. After drafting this initial idea, we added a major component to it, which is helping organizations and brands to navigate the Web3 space, by offering dedicated B2B services and advisory. We believe that we've accumulated the right knowledge that would allow us to help individuals and organizations to enter this pace. This is what OasisX is, a platform empowering the creative economy in the MENA region, and we’re only just starting. I know you like to end with what everyone’s analogy is to explain Web3. I always like to explain what blockchain is first because everything is built on it. And blockchain is the group of computers that allow us to communicate and store data in a decentralized, transparent, and immutable way, where all participants have access to the same data sets. This is the foundation for NFTs and crypto. So, if you use this system wisely, you end up creating tools for people to use in a transparent, accessible, and independent way. NFTs have different explanations and use cases depending on who’s using them. For the artist, it's a way to showcase and sell their art as they've never had the chance to do it before, as it gives reach and continuous monetization. It's a new medium of expression. For companies and brands, NFTs could serve as new digital products that can take your brand to the next level and would be your entry point to this digital renaissance.