THE MONEY CLASSROOM

With her financial comparison website and accompanying education program now acquired by SHUAA Capital, Ambareen Musa, Founder and CEO of Souqalmal, is onto her next challenge. She’s on a mission to revolutionize regional financial literacy by building a multipurpose on-demand platform.

- JAMILA GANDHI

This year marks the 10th anniversary of financial comparison website Souqalmal.com, a U.A.E.-headquartered financial comparison website that has become a homegrown success story in the region’s technology space.

But founder and CEO Ambareen Musa has more cause for celebration against the backdrop of a significant milestone for her company—getting acquired. On March 21, 2022, asset manager SHUAA Capital announced the majority acquisition of Souqalmal, in a deal that had been in the making for over six months.

“The funniest moment during the exit process came from my kids. Their reaction was such an innocent one! They were worried that they would take all my awards and change the name on the accolades,” laughs Musa. In reality, she feels more empowered with the sale and SHUAA’s vote of confidence in her decision-making. “SHUAA approached us with a vision to digitize personal financial services in the U.A.E., and our alignment in strategy instantly clicked.”

The deal’s value remains confidential, but since it was established in 2012, Souqalmal has secured over $15.2 million in funding from investors, including Riyad Capital and U.K. comparison website GoCompare, who will remain shareholders in the Fintech company. Envisioned as a highly transparent marketplace, Souqalmal—or “money market” in Arabic—allows users to compare over 3,200 personal finance products such as credit cards, loans, bank accounts, and insurance offered by providers in the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia. The company’s sales hit $7 million in the 2018 financial year and $14 million in 2019, and the platform recorded about 600,000 subscribers as of 2021.