SBI Holdings' Fund Invests in Vietnamese InsurTech Saladin Consulting and Technology
SBI Holdings has taken the role of lead investor in the Series A funding round for Saladin Consulting and Technology, a technology startup based in Vietnam. This investment was executed through the SBI-NTU-Kyobo Digital Innovation Fund, a Singapore-based fund managed by the SBI Group. The funding round also attracted participation from several other existing and new investors, including Monk’s Hill Ventures, Peak XV Partners, and ICMG Ventures, highlighting growing interest in the company's potential.
Founded in 2022, Saladin has rapidly become a leading player in the Vietnamese InsurTech sector. The company provides a multi-channel distribution platform that specializes in embedded insurance, meaning they offer coverage that is customized to match other services like payments, travel, and healthcare. To date, Saladin has secured partnerships with 15 major insurance companies in Vietnam. They have also developed an application for insurance agents called "Saladin Pro," which has already registered more than 15,000 users and serves as a tool for agent training and improving financial literacy.
Saladin intends to use the capital raised in this Series A round to significantly expand its business operations. The company plans to move beyond its current focus on non-life insurance products and enter markets that have traditionally required offline, face-to-face consulting. Specifically, they aim to introduce life insurance products, such as term life and comprehensive medical insurance, that are designed for online distribution. Additionally, Saladin plans to integrate the latest Artificial Intelligence technologies to improve overall productivity, optimize services for individual customers, and ensure a reliable experience for users ranging from general service inquiries to processing insurance claims.
The investment comes at a strategic time, as the insurance market in Vietnam is showing remarkable resilience and entering a period of transformation despite recent macroeconomic challenges. SBI Holdings believes that Saladin will play a crucial role in this growing market by utilizing technology to place customers, insurers, and agents at the center of the ecosystem. The fund backing this investment is a collaborative effort established in 2022 between the SBI Group, a subsidiary of Nanyang Technological University, and the Kyobo Life Insurance Group, specifically designed to support early-stage digital startups across Southeast and South Asia.
Norbert Gehrke
