Friday, March 29, 2024
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Editor's PickHealthcare-focused fintech start-up attracts Islamic funding

Healthcare-focused fintech start-up attracts Islamic funding

Dubai-based fintech company KLAIM is attracting the attention of Islamic investors, with Knuru Capital leading a US$30 million Shariah compliant investment round for the healthcare start-up, and an initial commitment of US$5 million already sealed.

The securitized US$5 million seed investment will be channeled toward scaling up KLAIM’s medical claims receivable purchasing solution. The product allows healthcare providers to access working capital by selling their outstanding insurance claims typically settled within 60 — 112 days.

Knuru Capital confirmed that it intends to increase its initial commitment to at least US$30 million by way of a pool of Shariah compliant investors.

This is not KLAIM’s first exposure to Islamic funding. Earlier in January, it signed an MoU with Saudi Arabia’s Alkhair Capital, under which the Islamic investment bank aims to provide KLAIM with up to US$50 million to support its growth, which according to KLAIM, is currently pending regulatory approval by the Saudi Capital Market Authority. Alkhair Capital also confirmed in a statement that the MoU will see them roll out investment products to finance purchase of uncollected medical insurance claims from insurance companies.

“The company is poised to scale its operations with further institutional debt and Series A equity financing in the very near term,” according to a joint statement by KLAIM and Knuru Capital.

It is, however, not immediately clear if the working capital solution offered by KLAIM complies with Shariah principles. IFN Fintech has yet to receive confirmation from the company.

Founded in 2019, KLAIM executed its first medical claim purchase transaction about a year ago. It has now onboarded at least 35 small and medium-sized healthcare providers in the UAE onto its beta program.

Islamic investors jumping into healthcare is not surprising. The inflation-resistant healthcare sector is projected to grow by a compound annual growth rate of 7.7% between 2021 and 2026 in the MENA region, according to the latest MEA Home Healthcare Market report. In the UAE alone, KLAIM estimates the medical claim market to be worth US$5.4 billion annually, with about US$1—1.5 billion of providers’ receivables held by insurance companies.

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