Summary
Ambareen Musa started Souqalmal by adapting the business model of UK-based online insurance brokers (e.g., MoneySuperMarket) to the UAE context. This two-part case describes some of the ups and downs of her journey, emphasizing the need for innovation and nimbleness in a rapidly changing competitive and regulatory environment.
Teaching objectives
The case highlights (i) how platforms add value (in the absence of network effects), (ii) the disappearance of business opportunities (here through commoditization and regulatory change), (iii) how to be nimble, how to pivot, how to execute a ‘judo strategy’.
Keywords
- Insurance Aggregator
- Entrepreneurship
- Innovation
- Middle East
- Fintech
- Insuretech
- Judo strategy
- Price War
- Commoditization
- Financial Literacy
- Regulatory Change
- Pivot
- Immitation
- Q12023
