Saudi fintech Takadao raises $1.6M to bridge Shariah and blockchain

Here’s Takadao! A unique Saudi fintech startup building community-owned financial services on the blockchain, with a twist - their products are Shariah-compliant, addressing the needs of the global Muslim community.

They just raised a $1.6 million pre-seed. 

• Based in Singapore with their headquarters in Riyadh, the company was co-founded by Sharene Lee and Morrad Irsane.

💸 Investor low-down: Legendary Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper (Baidu, Skype, and Hotmail) led the pre-seed round. 

• Other investors like BIM, Core Vision Ventures, and Prince Sultan bin Fahad bin Salman Al Saud are also all onboard.

💰 Minding money

The Muslim population is predicted to grow twice as fast as the non-Muslim population by 2030. 

This young and rapidly growing population is searching for financial services that take their values into account. 

Many also face unstable economies, weak currencies, limited traditional banking access, and distrust due to banks prioritising shareholder profits over consumer well-being.

🌐⛓️ All aboard the blockchain

Takadao's mission is to extend the reach of Islamic finance by providing Shariah-compliant loans and insurance through the blockchain. 

They emphasise the community-owned nature of their services, where shareholders are the users themselves. 

This approach ensures the primary focus on consumer well-being, and what about shareholder profits, you say? 

They go back to end users! 

And how? They leverage decentralised blockchain and crypto.

• The company’s primary product on offer at the moment is Takaturn, a traditional global savings system where a group contributes to a fund monthly and takes turns receiving the full amount. A security deposit ensures no one defaults. 

🔮 The future

Takasure, an initiative that hopes to protect financial freedom by turning savings into insurance, is still in the works, with a release date of June 2024.

Takadao mixes finance, tech, and culture with a community of 10,000+ members that continues to grow by 5% weekly.