Qardus targets £2m from seed funding round
Qardus, the Shariah-compliant peer-to-peer lending platform, is looking to raise more than £2m from a seed round to expand its business and develop its technology.
Founder Hassan Daher told Peer2Peer Finance News that the fundraise is “in process” and the team is “optimistic about getting it over the line”.
“We are looking to raise more than £2m to expand our presence in the UK, carry on building our technology, growing our team and becoming a dominant player when it comes to Shariah finance,” Daher said.
Qardus is currently focused on the UK market but is looking to expand overseas in the future. Daher noted the sizeable Muslim population in Europe as an opportunity, as well as the Middle East and South Asia regions.
Read more: Shariah-compliant platforms carve out P2P niche
The platform is attracting increasing numbers of investors and has seen growth in the average investment size.
“We are not only bringing in more investors, but different types are coming through,” Daher added. “We have sophisticated, high-net-worth and retail investors.”
Qardus is open to both Muslim and non-Muslim investors, who receive profit rates of around 11 per cent per year.
Qardus received a Highly Commended award for Financial Inclusion at the Peer2Peer Finance Awards, which took place on Tuesday.
Read more: Peer2Peer Finance Awards in pictures