Dubai-based start-up, Huspy, disrupting home finance industry

Launched in August 2020 by CEO Jad Antoun and CTO Khalid Ashmawy, the company, which has just completed a funding round led by VentureFriends with participation from Amir Farha (Cotu), B&Y Ventures, Plug and Play, and large regional family offices, is starting with a web and app-based licensed mortgage platform offering home financing products with no paperwork involved.

Jad Antoun and Khalid Ashmawy

While only eight-months-old, Huspy is already one of the largest brokerages in the country with more than $200m in annualised GMV, 150+ transactions, and growing over 40 percent every month with their current core product focusing on home buying and refinancing.

In an exclusive interview with Arabian Business, co-founder Jad Antoun reveals why the middle of a global pandemic was the right time to launch, the business plan and hopes for the future.

When did you come up with the idea of Huspy or realise there was a gap in the market for the business?

As an ex-venture capitalist, I was seeing that globally, property was the next category to be disrupted by tech. In the US and other advanced economies, the sector is fast becoming the most exciting area for investment with tech serving the buying, selling, financing and refinancing parts of the property mix.

We are starting our journey with home financing – in the UAE alone, this market is valued at $50bn+, and it’s untapped.

Since ideation, we have focussed on what the PMF (product market fit) might look like for the local market here, attracting core talent from around the world to build the optimal solution. From there, we will localise for markets that we’ve identified in our footprint.

What is your business plan?

To begin with we are focussing on the area of home financing in the UAE – helping customers find the best market rates and simplifying the customer experience through tech.

Our algorithms can generate the best mortgage rate available within minutes and empower customers to close their loan within weeks.

As the mindset of the expatriate population shifts from short-term rental mode to purchasing property and staying here long-term, we are building a platform that will help serve this growing market.

Is the company bootstrapped or have you raised capital from investors? Can you take us through your funding journey?

We have raised a large seed round, led by VentureFriends (investors of InstaShop), with participation from Amir Farha (Cotu and former managing partner of BECO), B&Y Ventures, Plug and Play, and regional family offices.

I was fortunate enough to have built a strong network of people in VCs from my previous jobs but going through the funding journey is not easy as it requires any company to build a product that is viable, a great team and communicating clearly the opportunity ahead.

What are your expansion plans? Where would you like to see the company in the next five years?

Home financing is one of the largest markets in most countries and it’s relatively untapped.

We are focused on delivering the optimal experience for customers in the UAE first and then expanding out to other markets in MENA and beyond such as Turkey and KSA.

Continuing to attract the very best in talent from around the world is also critical in this early part of our journey. Our five-year plan is to be full service – product, operations and talent in the core markets we have identified on our footprint.

What is your vision for the company?

We want to be synonymous with proptech for the region – when you think of buying a home or even selling a home, financing or refinancing a property, your first port of call is Huspy.

Property is an emotional purchase, we want to be a brand that people connect with, trust and have a great experience on their journey with us.