Taking advantage of such a scenario, different startups are offering services and helping customers to make informed choices. One such startup is SmartChoice.

The portal, which was among the first batch of startups incubated at the Google-backed Nest i/O, was launched in January 2015 with broadband comparison. It now offers comparison of different products and services, including credit cards, broadband connection (both home and corporate), health, car and travel insurance.

10 Pakistani startups that made a mark in 2016

Sibtain Jiwani, the co-founder and CEO of SmartChoice, told The Express Tribune he wanted to launch the startup soon after moving back from England after completing his education in 2008 but couldn’t due to slow adoption of technology.

“I moved back to Pakistan in 2008, hoping to start this venture. However, with no local network and looking at slow adoption of technology I decided to wait and gain experience,” said Sibtain, adding, “Finally, in late 2014, I decided to initiate this in form of a plan, and to achieve the goal I had to quit my job.”

Explaining what purpose his startup actually serves, Sibtain said product comparison is only one aspect of their service. “We are a bridge between consumers and service providers. Any user who finds a suitable product on our platform can easily order it, be it getting broadband connection installed, buying insurance policy or applying for credit card online.”

‘Pakistani e-commerce expected to hit $1b by 2020’

SmartChoice is not the only one providing such services in the country. KarloCompare, a personal finance aggregation platform of CompareOn Pakistan Private Limited, also offers similar services.

Co-founded by Sumair Farooqui and Ali Ladhubhai, the website went live on April 1, 2016 and became transactional on in June 2016. Prior to launching the startup, both Sumair and Ali worked in the banking sector.

“KarloCompare is dedicated to personal finance (i.e. credit cards, personal loans, and auto loans), general insurance and broadband services. In the coming quarter we will be adding deposits, investments and other consumer oriented insurance products,” said Sumair.

Both Sibtain and Sumair feel that there’s a market for such business in Pakistan.

“Customers are always looking for a professional suggestion,” Sibtain commented adding that consumer can make the informed choice only if they are aware of all the options.

KarloCompare co-founder also echoed this opinion, saying that, “We have a win-win business for consumers as well as the service providers. Consumer can make more informed decisions and evaluate all the options available to them at a few clicks, and providers have a new channel to acquire new to company customers.”

Making money while serving consumers for ‘free’

The basic purpose of every business is to make money. So if these startups serve consumers for free, how do they sustain.

Explaining their monetisation model, Sibtain said: “We primarily monetise by generating leads for the partners we work with, it’s a success based marketing fee which is charged on each successful sale.”

Despite challenges, entrepreneurial landscape flourishing in Pakistan

However, he contended that it is not same as typical sales approach. “We are not exclusive to any partner and work with all. Hence, customer has the choice to opt for the service they feel comfortable with.”

Additionally, the startup also runs promotional campaigns for their partners to advertise their products to generate revenue.

KarloCompare also generates revenue through similar means. “We work on a few different pricing models depending on the product category and generate income through conversions from our service partners (i.e. banks, insurance, and broadband companies),” said Sumair.

Via: Express Tribune (https://tribune.com.pk/story/1286616/pakistani-startups-help-take-smart-decisions)

Khurram Zahid

The post These Pakistani startups help you take ‘smart decisions’ appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

EP 65 – Sibtain Jiwani – Founder, SmartChoice – Why Can That Not Happen In Pakistan?

In this episode, Michael Waitze talks to Sibtain Jiwani, the founder and CEO of Smartchoice.pk. The startup is Pakistan’s leading insurance aggregator helping individuals and businesses compare and buy insurance plans instantly online. The aggregator started in 2014 and has since partnered with 10+ insurance companies offering motor, travel, health and life insurance products.

Studying in the UK, Sibtain was impressed by the convenient online services available and the seamless processes that made life easier for consumers. He aimed to bring this experience back to Pakistan but had to wait until broadband internet connectivity reached sufficient coverage. As soon as that occurred, Sibtain benefitted from the large number of freelance developers that are based in Pakistan to build Smartchoice.pk.

Sibtain talks about the insurance and InsurTech landscape in Pakistan which has one of the lowest insurance penetration in Asia. Being an Islamic country, some view traditional insurance products as not in line with Islam law. But only 2 out of 35 insurers are takaful-only providers, an alternative concept where members contribute money into a pool based on sharia or Islamic religious law.

Michael and Sibtain also talk about the investment and startup landscape in Pakistan. Smartchoice.pk has raised some money locally but also from investors coming from Oman as well as Pakistani ex-pats living abroad looking to invest in businesses back in their home country. Apart from the capital raising, the startup is receiving support from the Pakistani insurance regulator, the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), which has even started a sandbox to test new insurance concepts and products. The sandbox is not only used by startups but also by local insurers. One has just launched COVID-19 protection within 2 weeks.

Via: The digital Insurer (https://asiainsurtechpodcast.com/ep-65-sibtain-jiwani-founder-smartchoice-why-can-that-not-happen-in-pakistan/)

Khurram Zahid

The post Why Can That Not Happen In Pakistan? appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

The startup managed to raise the hefty amount after graduating from a ten-week accelerator program offered by Wadi.

Smartchoice is a financial comparison platform. Founded by Sibtain Jiwani, it enables the users to compare various financial products like loans, credit cards, insurance policies, and broadband internet packages.

The platform aims to facilitate the users in making informed decisions and saving money. Users can also buy health and travel insurance online

According to Sibtain Jiwani, the platform’s CEO and the founder, more than 70,000 people use Smartchoice every month. Moreover, the platform has helped people save over $100,000 in insurance premium in the last eighteen months.

Currently, Smartchoice is working with 15 financial institutions in the country that include insurance companies and banks. It presents information about 100 differen9t products on its website.

Smartchoice Plans

Talking about how the startup intends to use the investment, Sibtain says, “Our focus is entirely on scaling the business and that is why we are investing heavily on tech to automate policy issuance.”

“We want to enable users to get an insurance policy for anything including health and term life online without having to go to an agent or an insurance company’s office. Additionally, introducing our services to consumers looking for such products digitally is key as it is still not common in Pakistan’s e-commerce sector.”

Investment Manager with Oman Technology Fund, Charles Ludwig says, “Smartchoice secured investment from our fund through an unforgiving and rigorous process. A combination of the founders’ grit and business nous and the market opportunity that Smartchoice affords are the reasons why they belong in Wadi’s portfolio. We are very optimistic about Smartchoice’s potential.”

Smartchoice also plans to spread financial literacy among people in Pakistan through different initiatives, like Rupee Wise, which is a video series that shares information and tips to dilute the complexity regarding financial products.

Via: ProPakistani (https://propakistani.pk/2019/03/21/smartchoice-pk-raises-100000-investment-from-wadi-accelerator/)

Khurram Zahid

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Khurram Zahid

The post Innovating the insurance infrastructure with Sibtain Jiwani, Smartchoice.pk appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Eat Mubarak
Eat Mubarak is a Pakistan-based online food discovery platform. To help eateries cope with the fall in demand due to social distancing measures, they have waived off all commissions from restaurants. They have also created a database of employees in the hospitality industry who have been laid off, to whom they aim to provide ration boxes.

Islam Channel
Islam Channel is a UK-based, free-to-air, English language, Islamic-focused television channel. It has been keeping the local Muslim community abreast of the latest developments and guidance regarding the CO-VID 19 crisis by producing relevant programming for its audience.
It is also offering free advertising for struggling businesses.

Scoodle
Scoodle is a UK-based online platform which connects tutors to students. Earlier in the year it disclosed $760,000 in pre-seed funding, with backers including Twitter co-founder Biz Stone and IFG ventures.
With schools in the UK closed, students have been thrust into adopting to online learning. Scoodle has responded by facilitating tutors to shift their lessons online and allowing students to ask questions on their platform with no extra charge. If you want to try out the app, you can download it here.

Botsify
Based out of Karachi, Botsify is an AI and ML conversational agent builder platform i.e. they build chatbots for businesses. To prevent spread of misinformation and provide accurate info regarding the pandemic, they collaborated with the government to create a FB messenger chatbot that address questions regarding CO-VID 19 in both English and the local language.

IslamicFinanceGuru (IFG)
The world owes a debt to public health professionals for their role in helping us fight this global pandemic. We decided to offer a small token of our appreciation to the brave NHS workers by offering to provide them with an Islamic will on a pay-what-you-like basis from 20-27 March. If you’re interested in getting a Islamic will for just £98, you can learn more here.

ReliveNow
ReliveNow is an online counselling platform that connects individuals to qualified mental health professionals. Their online sessions are anonymous, affordable, and convenient. In light of the increase in stress levels as a result of the global crisis, they are offering free 15-minute counselling sessions, where you will be connected with a mental health professional.

MedAngle
MedAngle is an online e-learning platform built to help students with medical school. They are offering up to 6 weeks of free premium access to the MedAngle platform for all medical students.

UpEffect
UpEffect is a crowdfunding platform that helps entrepreneurs raise funds for transformative solutions geared towards solving global issues. UpEffect is waiving its platform fee for all campaigns combatting COVID-19 and its effects.

SearchSmartly
SearchSmartly is a property matchmaking platform which uses technology to help tenants find the right place to call home in London. In addition to offering customers the option to view property on video instead of in-person, they have also offered a free concierge relocation service for any key workers needing to move within Greater London in this time of need.

SWVL
SWVL offers a premium alternative to public transportation by offering affordable, quality, convenient, and reliable everyday bus rides. From offering free rides to essential workers in Egypt and Kenya, to distributing 3,000+ ration packs to thousands of daily wage workers across Pakistan, SWVL is using its transport network to help.

Rizq
Rizq is a social enterprise set up in 2017 with the aim of combatting global hunger. They have partnered with logistics businesses including Swvl, Cheetay and Bykea to form a network of door-to-door ration delivery for those households who have been affected the most by the health crisis. Their initial plan is to provide monthly food supplies to 10,000 affected families in Phase 1 for a period of 3 months. You can donate to their campaign here.

Miraj Stories
Miraj Stories is a vibrant multi-media library of audiobooks, animations, interactive books and games for children 4 to 9.
They currently have opened up over half of their multimedia content (games, interactive books, animations, audiobooks) in the Miraj Stories. They have also dropped their subscription cost by 50%.

Bykea
Bykea is an on-demand ride-hailing and parcel delivery service. In addition to partnering with Rizq, they have announced a PKR 7m relief fund for the gig economy workers for their loss of income as a result of the lockdown. The fund is made possible by donations from their investors and by their employees who have taken a wage cut to facilitate the gig workers in this time of need.

Sehat Kahani
Based out of Pakistan, Sehat Kahani aims to provide affordable healthcare access to the masses through telemedicine. It is offering free-of-cost tele-consultation for the next three months during the CO-VID 19 outbreak.
ABC for Moms
ABC for Moms (After-Birth Care for Moms) offers after-birth care advice and a range of different services for new mothers. It has also started to offer free tele-consultation on its website.

Queno
Queno is an online learning platform for schools. With many schools forced to shut down due to social distancing measures, Queno has decided to waive off its up-front installation fees (upto £500) for schools in order to help teachers and students adapt to online learning.

Liber Health
Liber Health is a health data exchange and patient identification platform powered by blockchain. To help fight a deadly virus which spreads through contact, it has introduced the world’s first secure and contactless IRIS identification solution, which enables healthcare professionals to protect themselves and their patients.
BreadFast
Cairo-based Breadfast, which delivers fresh breakfast and other household products, announced that they will waive off delivery charges to encourage customers to use their platform and stay home.
Modanisa
Headquartered in Istanbul, Modanisa is an online modest fashion clothing brand. To encourage people to stay home, they have waived off delivery charges.

Zileej Toys
Zileej Toys creates meaningful toys and games for Muslim families. They created downloadable Thank-You cards for young children to colour in and post to front-line medical workers.

Quit Genius
Quit Genius is a high-intensity digital behavior change program that helps people kick addictive behaviors for good.
It is only open for employers to sign up to and offer as a perk to their employees. Quit Genius have made their offering free for employers to sign up to during March and April 2020.

LaunchGood
LaunchGood is a global crowdfunding platform, designed to support Muslims who are launching social enterprises all across the world by helping them raise funds for their campaigns. To help those affected by the crisis, they have launched a campaign to collect funds to provide food and other essentials to the most vulnerable people within the UK.

Ethis
Ethis is an ethical property crowdfunding investment platform located in Indonesia. They recently a published a brief guide to help people get answers to FAQs regarding property crowd-investing during the current economic uncertainty.

Lamsa
Lamsa is an online Arabic edu-tainment app for young children. With schools closing around the world, they have provided free access to their stories, games, and videos until 30th April to help parents facilitate distance learning.

Wahed Invest
Wahed Invest is an online halal investment firm. To help answer questions people have regarding the global economic uncertainty and investments, they are hosting a webinar on 2nd April. You can register for the webinar here.

SmartChoice.pk
SmartChoice.pk is a financial products comparison platform based in Pakistan. They have included coverage from CO-VID 19 in their health insurance plans. You can read more about IFG’s position on the permissibility of insurance here.
Do you know of any more? Let us know in the comments!

Classtutor
Classtutor is a tutoring platform set up specifically in response to Covid-19 aiming to provide really affordable tutoring to people whose education would otherwise suffer.

Golden Touch Academy
Golden Touch Academy regularly hold Money Mastery workshops and have launched a free “Life Mastery” program for teen on their Youtube channel designed to upskill teenagers on Islam, personal development, financial education, softskills and positive mindsets.

VIA: Islamic Finance Guru (https://www.islamicfinanceguru.com/general/how-muslim-businesses-are-helping-out-during-the-pandemic/)

Khurram Zahid

The post How Muslim businesses are helping out during the pandemic appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Interview with Muhammad Sibtain Jiwani – founder of Pakistani comparison site SmartChoice.pk

Khurram Zahid

The post Founding a ground-breaking finance start-up appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Khurram Zahid

The post The great life insurance swindle appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Karachi-based financial comparison platform Smartchoice has raised $100,000 from Muscat-based Oman Technology Fund’s Wadi Accelerator. The startup received the investment after graduating from Wadi’s ten-week accelerator program that took place in Muscat & London.

Founded by Sibtain Jiwani, Smartchoice enables users to compare different financial products including credit cards, loans, insurance policies, and even broadband internet packages to help them make informed decisions and save money. The platform also allows users to buy health and travel insurance online.

Sibtain Jiwani, the founder and CEO of Smartchoice tells MENAbytes that the platform is being used by over 70,000 people every month and has helped people save over $100,000 in insurance premium in the last eighteen months.

Smartchoice is currently working with 15 financial institutions in the country including banks and insurance companies and features about 100 different products on its website.

Speaking about how they plan to use the investment, Sibtain adds, “Our focus is entirely on scaling the business and that is why we are investing heavily on tech to automate policy issuance. We want to enable users to get insurance policy for anything including health and term life online without having to go to an agent or an insurance company’s office. Additionally introducing our services to consumers looking for such products digitally is key as it is still not common in Pakistan’s ecommerce sector.”

Charles Ludwig, Investment Manager with Oman Technology Fund, speaking to MENAbytes, said, “We firmly believe that the average consumer commands much higher level of information and convenience than what is currently offered in Pakistan and the GCC when it comes to selecting financial products. Smartchoice secured investment from our fund through an unforgiving and rigorous process. A combination of the founders’ grit and business nous and the market opportunity that Smartchoice affords are the reasons why they belong in Wadi’s portfolio. We are very optimistic of Smartchoice’s potential.”

Smartchoice also aims to increase financial literacy among the masses in Pakistan through different initiatives with the first one being Rupee Wise, a video series that shares information and tips to reduce complexity around financial products.

“We are a business with a cause to help people make quality financial decisions and believe this is initiative is a step towards that,” said Sibtain about the initiative.

The startup that’s graduate of one of country’s leading incubators, Nest I/O, currently employs 15 people in Karachi including Head of Technology Hunain Kapadia, an Insead alumnus who has previously worked with different startups in the United States and Singapore, and Head of Business Umair Ahmed Baig, a banking veteran with over ten years of experience in the industry.

Via: Menabytes (https://www.menabytes.com/smartchoice-wadi/)

Khurram Zahid

The post Pakistani financial comparison platform Smartchoice raises $100,000 from Oman Technology Fund’s Wadi Accelerator appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

The way it works is you go to their website, select the financial product — currently includes credit cards, car loans, insurance, takaful plan, broadband — and select your filters. Let’s say you want a car loan, all you have to do is enter the vehicle model, installment tenure and down payment, and bam! The system will show you a list of plans which you can apply for directly through the website.

Obviously you will have to fill in your identification, contact and income details after which a SmartChoice.pk agent will contact you for proof of income and other documents. Once all of this is done, they will forward the application to the bank that will then process it and decide on the fate of your car.

In the entire process, the company gets access to a lot of your personal data and Sibtain is very clear about the privacy policy: no external use whatsoever.

Simply put, SmartChoice is a price comparison website that gives you the best rates from a number of market players. How? So far, they have stuck to only displaying results from partner organisations from whom they get direct quotes.

And Sibtain has been rather conservative about the organisations he teams up with. While around five banks are good enough for a start, many of the biggest names, like Habib Bank and United Bank, are still missing. Isn’t the credibility of a supermarket undermined if it doesn’t display the most notable brands? To Sibtain, the answer is a definite no.

“These big banks already have a large enough customers base and find it difficult to even lend to the existing customers. So even if we get them on board, they would hardly be approving loans through us,” he explains. “On the other hand, our partner banks are aggressively lending so there’s a better approval rate and more money for us,” he adds.

But Sibtain believes the role of SmartChoice goes beyond being a supermarket. “In financial products, there is a need for human interaction while making the right choice. And that advisory role is where I think is our biggest strength,” he says.

This is not e-commerce though: in financial products, the gap between the willingness and ability to pay is rather wide, with approval rates for loans in single digits. Lack of credit scoring makes the task even more difficult. So, what then? “The State Bank is working on some mechanism for credit scoring but that will take time. Until then, we are trying some collaborations with banks to streamline the process,” Sibtain says, without disclosing what exactly is in store.

While the website does have a number of financial products, insurance seems to be their bread and butter. “We started out with insurance so we have a consolidated position in it: there are more partnerships with insurance companies and we have only recently started expanding into other areas,” says the CEO.

Sibtain realised the need for such a portal when he himself was ripped off while buying a car insurance policy. Soon after its launch in end 2016, the company raised seed money and has been bleeding ever since. Now it wants to go for the first round of funding and is looking for the right investor. “We have to expand our tech and marketing so that’s where we will be focusing if we secure money,” says the CEO.

Like any online aggregator, it is free for consumers; so how does SmartChoice make money? On every sale, the startup charges the supplier a certain cut. Other than that, there are paid marketing plans in offer that let companies be featured on the top.

Lately, this industry has garnered much interest with KarloCompare and Mawazna also looking to make gains. But Sibtain is not perturbed, claiming that his position is in no imminent danger in the near future. While that might sound arrogant, his words are substantiated by the traffic SmartChoice.pk attracts – twice compared to other two players combined.

But rather than comforting Sibtain, this should in fact worry him: monopoly in a tiny pie is far worse than a smaller share in a bigger market. Even though financial inclusion is on a steep rise, the current market size is too small, let alone the online market. And until that happens, the startup has found itself another niche: the Pakistani expats. “We have a significant demand from Pakistanis abroad flying their parents out of the country or want to get them a car,” he shares.

What exactly is the overall market potential though? For starters, just the auto financing last year hit Rs193 billion while the underwritten insurance premium exceeded two billion dollars, and the CEO feels his startup is well-suited to grab a sizeable share. “We are targeting 7-10pc of the market by the next couple of years,” Sibtain notes.

SmartChoice wants more than to simply digitise the market for financial products though. “The current industry is very old school with complex procedures and products and our model can only work if we simplify both,” he says. How? Through innovation. “We are building our own products with financial institutions, such as a life insurance policy valid for a particular term. After that, we plan to enter the mutual funds arena,” the CEO shares. Let’s see whether his smart choices reap results or not.

Via: Dawn (https://www.dawn.com/news/1434488)

Khurram Zahid

The post Teck Talk: An online mall, for financial products only appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

1. How do you imagine insurance sector post COVID-19?
In the context of Pakistan, it’s going to be a daunting challenge as almost all new business generated specially in life insurance sector is done in-person where multiple meetings often take place from product pitching to insurance paperwork and premium payment. Similarly in non-life insurance sector which relies heavily on motor and property have been severely impacted due to low business activity and no new car sales in April.

With all this in view, insurers will have to adapt to the paradigm shift in consumer behavior and expectations they have from service providers. The insurance industry has to think of ways to move towards low touch models which are tech driven and tech assisted. This would need overhauling of the existing approach towards products and business processes.

2. What are the challenges and opportunities for InsureTech in the current crisis scenario?
Smartchoice.pk being InsureTech is already equipped and has been operational in this unfortunate crisis, since our business is technology first we do not rely on physical interaction hence we have become customers first choice for any insurance coverage they want for themselves or businesses. We have seen a huge uptake of employee health insurance in this crisis especially in SME sector who are now more worried about their workforce health and safety. With hand sanitizer and face mask becoming a priority, I expect employee health insurance to become the new norm.

3. What key actions did you make to stand by your customers and society?
At Smartchoice.pk we have served thousands of customers of who have bought health insurance through our platform in last 12 months. We proactively approached our insurance partners and got clarity on whether COVID-19 is covered, on confirmation we rolled communication via multiple social media platforms and email to inform our customers that they are covered in case they are diagnosed with COVID-19. We also partnered with Sehat Kahani to offer 3 months of free tele-medicine service to all our customers and new policyholders, this was very much appreciated as this enabled them to avoid hospital and clinic visits.

Additionally with our partner TPL Life, we launched a specialized insurance product which offers coverage of COVID-19 for entire family from as low as Rs. 6,000. Similar product of EFU Life, will also be available on Smartchoice that will allow individual coverage from as low as Rs. 800.

4. How do you see consumer behaviour shifting towards digital during this crisis time and what is your approach while understanding and responding to their needs?
Most countries including Pakistan saw uptake of e-Commerce and grocery shopping since this crisis took its toll, also financial institutions saw tremendous growth of their digital channels specially mobile banking and with SBP making Inter Bank Funds transfer fee this motivated the customer to do digital transaction.

I believe the same trend is to be seen in insurance industry however our biggest challenge today is penetration of insurance which is quite low, this crisis is a great opportunity for SECP to mandate insurers to move towards alternate digital channels and adopt ways to minimize interaction and finds ways to use technology to build specialized products keeping in view the changing spending patterns and needs of customers.

5. In your opinion, how InsureTechs can help insurance and financial sector to cope up with current crisis?
Smartchoice.pk is at the forefront to help insurers quickly make their insurance products available digitally on our platform, we have helped multiple insurers make their products available to masses. More than 70% of our customers are first time insurance policy buyers, this is due to our continuous investment in educating customers about insurance products and our approach to increase the size of pie instead of going after the existing market segment. We are geared to work with our insurance partners to grow the market size and now look beyond being an insurance aggregator only.

Via: Daily Newspk (https://dailynewspk.com/covid-19-exclusive-shifting-of-the-paradigm-with-sibtain-jiwani-smartchoice-pk/)

Khurram Zahid

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