Dubai’s Creative Zone buys stake in insurance platform

Creative Zone, a Dubai business formation company, has acquired a stake in insurance comparison platform InsuranceMarket.ae which values the business at $80 million (Dh294m).

The deal is part of a strategic partnership to further the growth of an ecosystem to support start-ups, Creative Zone said yesterday. The company did not reveal the size of its investment or its stake.

“We aim to become a catalyst that not only simplifies the business set-up process, but a one-stop shop for all the business requirements to facilitate ongoing sustainable business growth and success,” said Steve Mayne, managing partner of Creative Zone.

The SME sector employs 85 per cent of the country’s workforce in the non-oil private sector and contributes about 53 per cent of its GDP, the company said, citing figures from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority.

“Our partnership with InsuranceMarket.ae will help us broaden our offering and provide customised insurance services to our clients to support the growth of their business,” said Jigar Sagar, managing director of Creative Zone.

InsuranceMarket.ae, which is a trademark of Afia Insurance Brokerage Services is a digital platform for comparing all types of business insurance and personal insurance. The company says it has served more than 200,000 clients since its inception.

Investments in start-ups, especially those specialising in Financial Technology (FinTech), has risen this year, according to a new report by technology platform Magnitt. In its third-quarter report published this month, it said that the value of completed venture deals increased by 30 per cent to $517m and the volume of deals also increased slightly to 354. FinTech companies were the most attractive to investors, representing 14 per cent of the companies funded.

UAE financial comparison website yallacompare raised $8m earlier this year, while insurance technology firm Aqeed.com secured $18m in series A funding from its corporate shareholders before its launch last year, and established operator Souqalmal. com raised $10m in series B funding from UK firm GoCompare in October 2017.