The bureaucracy in the insurance industry is the nightmare of every customer. Luckily, technological advancements have been disrupting this industry and there are few key players in the MENA region who's paying attention to that. And one of the pioneers in MENA's InsurTech scene is the Abu-Dhabi based startup Hala.
Launched in 2018 by Harsh Ajmera, Walid and Karim Dib, the startup initially started off as a means to reconcile payments between motor insurance companies in the UAE utilizing blockchain technology. In 2020, Hala expanded into retail car insurance and started working on revolutionizing the InsurTech industry by making insurance affordable, and accessible for everyone.
Ever been in such a hurry with someone so slow-th? Join Hala, if you want your answer to be ‘no’. ?#insurance #claims #carinsurance #autoinsurance #lordsaveus #sloths #slow #old #help #joinhala #uae #abudhabi #dubai pic.twitter.com/Tk2focB6nh
— Hala هلا (@hala_insurance) May 10, 2021
Believing that necessity is the mother of invention, the brilliant Dib brothers decided to put an end to their own suffering (and to many others) by forming the unique InsurTech startup, Hala. Like the rest of us, the aspiring founders had to face countless challenges with insurance companies. And based on their own experiences, they mapped out the frustrations in the industry including its lack of digitization and transparency, and most importantly insurance retailers’ rigid and apathetic approaches. Their solution to all these issues was Hala, the InsurTech startup that is currently serving thousands of users in a user-centric approach, and proud to have hundreds of 5-star reviews.
On August 28th, the thriving startup proudly announced that it has successfully closed its Series A round at $5M. The round was led by Israel-based Entrée Capital, with participation from Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company, Dubai-basedEQ2 Ventures, Germany-based Global Founders Capital, San-Francisco's 500 Startups, and UAE-based Hambro Perks Oryx Fund.
Hala currently operates in the UAE, and it is planning to use the funds to include new products such as home insurance and to expand within the Middle East market, starting with Saudi Arabia.
“People would love insurance if insurance loved them back. The region’s insurers have focused too hard on selling a product before understanding the customer's knowledge and preferences. Hala aims to bridge the gap between insurance misconceptions and people’s needs. We're proud to have partnered up with the regional and global investors to make this vision a reality." - Walid Daniel Dib, CEO, and Co-Founder of Hala.
According to a study by Allied Market Research, the global InsurTech market size was valued at $9.4 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $158.99 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 32.7% from 2021 to 2030.
