- Khazanah’s funding from US$1.3bil Dana Impak to spur competitiveness
- Aims to serve 2.5mil gig workers & 300k SMEs within the next five years
Southeast Asian focused insurance tech startup, PolicyStreet Sdn Bhd, headquartered in Malaysia, has closed a US$15.3 million (RM67 million) Series B fundraising with Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional Bhd as lead investor.
Other investors in the round include Altara Ventures which was the lead investor in the Sept 2021 US$6 million (RM25 million based on the exchange rate then) Series A round, Gobi Partners and Spiral Ventures.
PolicyStreet, a full-stack insurtech that offers digital and customised insurance solutions to consumers and businesses intends to use the funds to strengthen its technology and underwriting capabilities to drive further growth of the business. Since its launch in 2017, it has served a cumulative 5 million customers and achieved a sum insured of over US$6 billion (RM27.7 billion). Over half a million of these have been B40 gig workers with 50,000 small-medium enterprises (SMEs) as well.
[RM1 = US$0.217]
Khazanah’s funding came from its Dana Impak mandate, a US$1.3 billion allocation over five years that forms a key pillar under Khazanah’s Advancing Malaysia strategy, with the aim to increase Malaysia’s economic competitiveness, build national resilience, as well as deliver socioeconomic impact to Malaysians.
Khazanah’s Managing Director, Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir (pic) said, “Our investment in PolicyStreet aims to improve insurance penetration within the unserved and underserved segments which advocates inclusivity, providing better financial protection, increasing household resilience and financial well-being. We will continue to invest in innovative and impactful solution providers that leverage technology and product innovation to serve the nation. This is aligned with our commitment to spur the startup ecosystem as part of our strategic imperatives via the Future Malaysia Programme.”
PolicyStreet CEO and Co-founder, Yen Ming Lee said, “PolicyStreet is committed to empowering underinsured businesses and consumers by providing accessible insurance solutions. We aim to serve 2.5 million gig workers and 300,000 SMEs within the next five years, creating a more financially inclusive future for communities in Malaysia and the region.” His co-founders include Wilson Beh, COO and Winnie Chua, chief product officer, all former banking and insurance professionals.
Dave Ng, General Partner of Altara Ventures, highlighted, “As their Series A lead investor, we are proud of PolicyStreet’s achievements to date. They grew their business five times in 2022 and achieved a cumulative sum insured of over US$6 billion, serving over 5 million customers since 2017. In this fundraising round, we doubled down on our support for this amazing team and look towards assisting the company’s efforts in regional expansion.”
Khazanah’s investment in PolicyStreet complements its Future Malaysia Programme which aims to support the local startup ecosystem of entrepreneurs, startups, venture capital and corporate venture programmes through collaboration with domestic and international partners. The Future Malaysia Programme supports investments into companies with sustainable business models that deliver socioeconomic impact to Malaysia, such as PolicyStreet.
As Dana Impak seeks to create socioeconomic impact in all its investments, Khazanah has applied its impact assessment framework, the SEMARAK Initiative, to the investment evaluation process.
Khazanah’s investment in PolicyStreet also complements the social protection pillar of the Malaysia MADANI Budget 2023 by improving the safety net for gig riders who are exposed to road accidents.
Gobi Partners Cofounder and Chairperson, Thomas Tsao (pic) said, “PolicyStreet has defied market expectations and achieved impressive milestones, demonstrating their commitment to driving meaningful social impact in Malaysia. Their outstanding achievements in licensing and growth, as well as industry recognition, prove their exceptional value proposition. Gobi Partners is delighted that Khazanah also recognises their capabilities and the value add they bring to the Malaysian economy.”
In offering simple, affordable and purposeful insurance solutions, PolicyStreet stands to narrow the protection gap in Malaysia and improve the country’s insurance penetration rate, which at 5.3%, currently lags global peers like Singapore (9.3%) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (9.4%).
PolicyStreet was the first homegrown InsurTech to be awarded Financial Adviser and Islamic Financial Adviser licenses by Bank Negara Malaysia in 2019 enabling it to work with over 40 insurance and takaful providers to provide financial advice, education and claims support to its customers.
PolicyStreet has also obtained the Reinsurer and General Insurer licenses from the Labuan Financial Services Authority (“LFSA”) in 2021, enabling it to customise and underwrite insurance policy for the unserved and underserved segments.