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3Dmena.com is a soon to be launched online marketplace and community where anyone can make, buy and sell custom products with 3D Printing. The company is currently being incubated at Oasis 500. Its platform provides access to high quality 3D Printing technology for the purpose of making, buying and selling custom products. Community members on the other hand can share ideas and gain access to this innovative technology, making product design and personalized production accessible to everyone. The project is headed by Loay Malahmeh and Rakan Khamash.

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Loay and Rakan had initially met at University, but it wasn’t until when Loay's decided to create this startup almost 7 years later that the two became partners in crime. Loay particularly recalled Rakan’s 3D skills and knowledge to complement his expertise. Combined, they command over six years of experience in 3D Modeling, e-Commerce, Digital Marketing, and the backing of industry experts & advisors.

“The possibility of bringing ideas to life with high quality 3D Printing technology thrills us! The fact that we can print anything that is 3D designed has opened our minds to a whole new range of possibilities,” explains Loay. “We want to bring high quality 3D printing to shoppers, designers and creators in the MENA region by enabling them to make their ideas a reality every day.”

Rakan was part of the modeling team in a featured movie called "Postman Pat", based on the popular british stop-motion animated children's television series. He’s had multiple features in 3D Magazines, such as 3D World. He won the Behance Coin of Excellence and was awarded first place in multiple regional 3D contests, including The King 3D Modeling and Colleges 3D Modeling Challenge.

This isn’t Loay’s first entrepreneurial endeavor. He had previously founded TickyTacky, Jordan's first online shop for gizmos & gadgets, which he bootstrapped from home in 2013 before pivoting the project to a B2B model. He has lost more than 50% of the investment, which was supplied by a friend, and is currently trying to phase out the inventory. “This loss was because of lack of experience and knowledge in handling cash-flow. I really hope that i read this article 2 years ago "10 Cash-Flow Surprises That Could Kill your Startup" I advise every startup owner to take this seriously at an early stage.”

He’s also been featured in a number of business magazines, including Wamda.com, Venture Magazine and Barkabits.com. He teaches Clawhammer Banjo for beginners and practices Chinese and Filipino martial arts: Avci Wingtsun & Avci Escrima. As for 3D technology, he’s a member of Enabling The Future, network of volunteers that works toward providing inexpensive 3D-printed prosthesis.

“We believe that 3D printing will revolutionize manufacturing the same way the Internet revolutionized IT. We believe that leading this field in the region will help position us as the hub for 3D printing – we have the manpower, the right mindset and the capabilities to do this.”

The Market for 3D Printing

Loay was keen to highlight some states on the subject. According to the Wholers 2014 report, the 3D Printing industry is currently evaluated at $3.07 Billion globally, it is set to grow to $12.8 Billion by 2018. According to the 2013 report, $800 million USD was spent on 3D prints. Wohlers Associates, Inc. provides technical, market, and strategic advice on the new developments and trends in rapid product development, additive manufacturing, and 3D printing.

The market is growing by 25% per year he adds. Twenty per cent of 3D products were produced by three companies with an online quotation and ordering system, such as Shapeways. The rest is being produced by smaller 3D printing companies, 500 of which are located in Europe.

Make. Sell. Buy.

3Dmena’s main business could be split into three branches. Make: where people visit the site and custom print objects they desire - they have to supply the plans - and have it shipped to them. Sell: here users can upload their models, set up a virtual store for their designs and earn a percentage from sales. And Buy: the opposite end of the Sell scheme.

The system will reply on an easy to use interface that allows users to browse designs, pick materials, view renders, and so on. The team is also working on developing online software for pricing 3D printed products in collaboration with a strategic partner. So far the team has completed on the ground UAE & Jordan market research, successfully gathered a community of 20 3D designers that will contribute over 100 products in preparation for the launch. They’ve secured access to high quality 3D Printers in UAE, KSA & Jordan, and are working hard on growing the team and building the brand and the community.

The team is also hopeful for an October launch. In the meantime they will be looking to acquire an additional fifty 3D Designers and Product Designers, expand their marketing outreach to the GCC region and forge strategic partnerships with 3D Printing service bureaus to outsource and offer more high quality materials such as detailed plastic, steel and ceramics.

Related: Now You Can Get 3D Printed Earphones Tailored to Your Ears

Building the Community

Beyond business models, market research and logistics, Loay is well aware of the importance of building a strong community and employing their technology for its benefit. For starters, the company is working with multiple institutions to design Jordan’s first 3D Printing FabLab, a small-scale workshop offering personal digital fabrication that will be open for students and innovators to come, play around, and get acquainted with the technology. As another way to familiarize people with the technology, the company will offer to print miniature model of themselves. (See picture)

“We want to bring high quality 3D printing to MENA,” concludes Loay, “but more importantly, we see it as a whole new way of solving problems.” For instance, the company utilizes its technology to bring down the price of prosthetics, from thousands of dollars to as low as $20 in some cases.