UAE’s Souqalmal.com raises $10 mln, eyes Saudi expansion

UAE-based personal finance comparison website Souqalmal.com has raised $10 million in a Series B funding round, led by Saudi Arabia's Riyad Taqnia Fund, along with the UK's GoCompare Group and UAE Exchange.

The portal is looking to expand its footprint in Saudi Arabia in partnership with Riyad Taqnia Fund, founder and CEO Ambareen Musa told a press conference in Dubai on Tuesday.

“The Saudi market is very heavily regulated when it comes to insurance. So for us, we're hoping to get out there in the next few months,” Musa said, in response to a question by Argaam.

“Once all the regulatory aspects have been sorted out, we've already got a [broker] in Saudi that we're partnering with. The good news about Riyad Taqnia Fund being on board is to help us with the regulatory aspects of it, and all the different steps we need to take to actually start in Saudi but start with a very good and solid foundation,” she added.

Riyad Taqnia Fund – a partnership between Riyad Capital and TAQNIA – is a venture capital fund worth SAR 500 million ($133 million), launched last year to invest in the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector.

The fund backs many tech and e-commerce startups in the region, including Saudi Arabia’s Foodics and UAE-based Beehive.

With its latest investment in Souqalmal.com, it plans to use its expertise and connections in the Kingdom to help the website expand, said Ivo Detelinov, vice president and head of private equity funds at Riyad Capital.

“We are a financial institution ourselves, so we can help with our connections and interactions with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), with the Capital Markets Authority,” he said.

The partnership could also be beneficial to Riyad Bank, which owns Riyad Capital, as many of the lender’s products could potentially be featured on the site, he added.

Established in 2012, Souqalmal.com allows users to compare personal finance products such as credit cards, loans, bank accounts, and insurance policies.

The site began offering users the chance to compare motor insurance policies last year, and has seen a nine-fold growth in revenues from auto insurance since then, Musa said at the event.

The company plans to use the funding from the new investment to develop its technology, invest in marketing, and launch new business lines, particularly in the insurance segment.  

“Within insurance you've got the different sub-lines which is health, travel, and home and that's what we're looking at in the next six months,” Musa said. 

Write to Jerusha Sequeira at jerusha.s@argaamnews.com