Souqalmal, one of Dubai’s leading finance and insurance comparison platform with presence across different countries in the region has received regulatory approval from Central Bank of Bahrain to launch its insurance comparison service in Bahrain, the startup announced today in a statement to MENAbytes.
The announcement comes two months after when Central Bank of Bahrain issued draft rules to enable the launch of insurance aggregators in the Kingdom.
“Just two months into the new regulatory environment, Souqalmal.com has been granted an e-broker license to operate an insurance comparison website in Bahrain,” said Souqalmal in the statement.
Ambareen Musa, Founder & CEO, commenting on the occasion, said, “Bahrain ranks 3rd globally in Internet penetration and 10th globally in mobile penetration. Boasting one of the highest online and mobile penetration rates in the world, and a rapidly transforming digital landscape, Bahrain was the ideal market for us to expand into.”
“We pride ourselves on bringing an unmatched level of transparency in the insurance marketplace and transforming the way UAE residents buy insurance. Our aim is to bring the same set of technologies and efficiencies to the Bahrain insurance sector. Bahrain’s increasingly tech-savvy residents can save considerable time and effort with Souqalmal.com’s online insurance comparison tools, instant quotes and expedited insurance purchase process,” she added.
Souqalmal that currently enables customers in the UAE & Saudi compare different financial and insurance products including car insurance, health insurance, travel insurance, personal loan, and credit cards, said in the statement that there’s an increasing demand for digital insurance services in Bahrain which can drastically improve customer experience, improve service delivery and lower transaction processing times.
“After successfully launching our insurance aggregator business in the UAE, and growing it to become the country’s most trusted insurance comparison portal, we wanted to replicate this success in other markets. There’s immense growth potential for FinTech, and specifically InsurTech businesses in Bahrain. With an incredibly supportive ecosystem of regulators, launch pads and accelerators, we were able to set up the business without a hitch,” said Souqalmal’s CEO Ambareen Musa.
The startup that’s backed by Riyad Taqnia Fund, UK-based financial comparison website GoCompare and UAE Exchange Group raised $10 million Series B last year. Souqalmal competes with the likes of Yallacompare and a relatively new player Aqeed in the UAE.
