SME story: Interview with Chafic Idriss, Rayan Antonios, Karam El Dik, founders of Twig

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Tell us what inspired you to start Twig.

At Twig, our inspiration came from recognising a prevailing issue: the lack of financial planning and effective savings strategies for individuals to achieve their goals.

We observed the challenges people face with money management across various platforms, driving us to create an engaging, goal-based saving infrastructure. Our aim is to empower individuals to save seamlessly, making it accessible and integrated into their lives.

Our motivation lies in enhancing financial wellness, promoting better money management habits, and positively impacting the economic wellbeing of individuals and businesses.

Talk us through your business model and its USP.

Our business model revolves around embedding our savings infrastructure across multiple platforms in the MENA region. Businesses pay for our services on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) basis, leveraging our capabilities to enhance their own offerings.

Our unique selling proposition (USP) centres around keeping users engaged with comprehensive money management capabilities.

We prioritise goal-based savings and smart planning functionality, empowering individuals to set and track their financial goals effectively. We make integration seamless for businesses, offering a user-friendly savings solution without extensive development efforts.

Share some of the highlights of your pre-seed round and how you plan to use the funds.

During our pre-seed round, we achieved several notable milestones. Firstly, obtaining the innovation testing licence (ITL) from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) showcased our commitment to regulatory compliance, establishing trust within the financial technology sector.

Secondly, the successful launch and testing of our B2C platform were pivotal moments. User feedback allowed us to refine our offerings based on their needs and preferences, ensuring our savings solutions align effectively with expectations.

Lastly, securing funding from strategic investors validated our vision and the potential of our embedded savings infrastructure. These funds enable further technological development, team expansion, and scaling operations.

We focus on continuous improvement, integrating behavioural economics principles, and expanding our reach across digital and traditional banks, providing seamless savings solutions.

Tell us about receiving the DFSA approval. How will it help the company and your future plans?

Receiving approval from the DFSA under the ITL has been a significant milestone, enabling us to understand user engagement with finances and prepare for market penetration. This approval enhances credibility and opens opportunities to bring our innovative savings infrastructure to a wider audience. It sets a solid foundation, providing regulatory support and guidance for our future plans.

Why did you pick Dubai for the launch?

Dubai was chosen strategically for its dynamic financial hub, innovation focus, and supportive ecosystem for fintech startups. Its regulatory framework aligns with our goals, and its central location grants access to both local and broader Middle East markets, representing significant growth potential for our embedded savings infrastructure.

Tell us about the latest automated savings platform and its highlights.

Saving money can be challenging as it requires discipline. Our platform utilises principles from behavioural economics to assist individuals in their saving endeavours.

We have implemented various automated features, including rounding up transactions to the nearest multiple and automatically recognising incoming salaries to encourage users to prioritise saving.

With our platform, we facilitate effective goal planning and provide a user-friendly experience to help individuals achieve their financial objectives. These features can be seamlessly integrated into any business platform, enabling their customers to save more efficiently.

Please share your expansion plans?

Our future plans involve expanding Twig’s reach by embedding our savings infrastructure into various platforms. We aim to empower individuals to plan for life transitions, future goals,and purchases. Our vision is to seamlessly integrate Twig into a wide range of applications, contributing to individuals’ financial wellbeing across different areas of their lives.

Chafic Idriss is the founder and CEO, Rayan Antonios is the founder and CBO and Karam El Dik is the founder and COO of Twig