Khazanah Nasional Berhad (“Khazanah”), under its Dana Impak mandate, recently led a Series B fundraising round of a Malaysian homegrown insurance technology (“InsurTech”) company, PolicyStreet, raising a total of US$15.3 million (RM67 million).
Dana Impak is a RM6 billion allocation over five years and is 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.
PolicyStreet is a full-stack InsurTech company that offers digital and customised insurance solutions to consumers and businesses.
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%).
Khazanah Nasional Managing Director, Dato’ Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir 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.”
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.
The 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.
Through its ongoing collaboration with digital partners such as CARSOME, foodpanda Malaysia and Shopee Malaysia, PolicyStreet is well positioned to drive meaningful social impact in Malaysia and the region, particularly for untapped segments such as gig and digital economy workers.
PolicyStreet Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, Yen Ming Lee said, “PolicyStreet is committed to empowering underinsured businesses and consumers by providing accessible insurance solutions. With over half a million B40 gig workers and 50,000 small-medium enterprises (“SMEs”) already benefiting from our services, 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.”
