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
