United Arab Emirates: SHUAA Capital psc (DFM: SHUAA), the leading asset management and investment banking platform in the region, has successfully completed a strategic investment in UAE-based fintech, Souqalmal (the “Company”). The investment will provide growth capital, allowing Souqalmal to execute on an ambitious growth plan over the next 24 months.  
 
Following the investment, Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqalmal, will continue to lead the business and oversea the expansion of its services. SHUAA joins existing strategic investors Riyad Capital and UK comparison website GoCompare, which will remain shareholders in Souqalmal.
 
This investment supports SHUAA’s strategy to increase its digital offerings and enhance personal finance and investment opportunities for the consumer. At the same time, this vision is aligned with Souqalmal’s future growth, as the Company looks to strengthen its offering and develop a personal financial management platform that will include financial education and awareness.

Souqalmal launched the first corporate financial education program for employees last year through its MoneyDoctor Program, the first of its kind in the region, and is recognized as the leading authority in the industry when it comes to representing the voice of the customer with financial institutions.  This program is the first step in delivering its vision of allowing customers to educate themselves, get instant pre-approval on their credit products, track their spending and grow their wealth, all on one platform.
 
Companies such as MAF, Careem, Emirates Catering are now all offering the MoneyDoctor Program to their employees making sure that financial health is a big part of employee wellness. Financial issues are amongst the highest causes of stress and decreased productivity in the workplace, and as we emerge from the last 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, financial health has taken on greater importance for employees and is an important factor for CEO’s to consider in terms of employee retention and wellness.

Commenting on the investment, Fawad Tariq Khan, MD and Head of Investment Banking at SHUAA Capital, said: “We are excited to join Souqalmal and Ambareen on their journey to becoming an interactive personal finance management platform. We believe that Souqalmal and its financial education arm have the ability to empower customers to understand, manage and grow their finances in a better way. As Souqalmal strengthens its personal and wealth management offering, SHUAA will be well positioned to help the Company access new pools of capital, products and more importantly knowledge.”
 
Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqalmal says “This acquisition gives Souqalmal what it needs to now bring the company to the next level.  We are really looking forward to what we can do together with a partner like SHUAA Capital. The drive to digitization of financial services is where the two companies really clicked and with this marriage brings resources, talent and the funds we need to really take on the under penetrated financial education industry”

Press Contacts      
SHUAA Capital psc
Hani El Abid
Head of Marketing and Communications
Email: helabid@shuaa.com
www.shuaa.com                         
 
Souqalmal.com
Ambareen Musa 
Founder and CEO
Work: +971 4 4483016

ASDA’A BCW
Dhanya Issac
Associate Director
Email: dhanya.issac@bcw-global.com
www.asdaa-bcw.com

About SHUAA Capital psc
SHUAA Capital psc (DFM: SHUAA) is a leading asset management and investment banking platform. SHUAA Capital psc is recognized for its strong track record and pioneering approach to investing through a differentiated, innovative and global product offering focused on public and private markets, debt and real estate. 

The asset management segment, one of the region’s largest, manages real estate funds and projects, investment portfolios and funds in the regional equities, fixed income and credit markets; it also provides investment solutions to clients, with a focus on alternative investment strategies. The investment banking segment provides corporate finance advisory, transaction services, private placement, public offerings of equity and debt securities, while also creating market liquidity on OTC fixed income products. The firm is regulated as a financial investment company by the Securities and Commodities Authority.

To learn more about SHUAA Capital, please visit:

  • Website: www.shuaa.com
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About Souqalmal.com
Souqalmal.com is the most-trusted insurance and banking comparison website in the region, allowing users to compare personal finance products such as credit cards, loans, bank accounts and insurance.

Envisioned as a highly transparent marketplace, Souqalmal.com empowers consumers to make the right choice by bringing together on one convenient platform all the latest details on more than 3,200 banking, insurance and education products offered by providers in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Souqalmal.com won “Best Technology Firm” at the 2017 MENA Insurance Awards, which further solidifies the role that it is currently playing in the InsureTech arena. The company also ranked second among Forbes’s “Top 20 Most Disrupting FinTech Startups” in the Middle East. Most recently, International Business Magazine recognized Souqalmal.com as the “Best Comparison Website UAE 2019”.
 
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