Bayzat Raises US$5 Million From Silicon Badia, BECO Capital And Others As Part Of Its Series A Originally launching as a tech platform for financial advice and health insurance in the UAE, the startup then pivoted to insurance, and then recently also diversified into automation of HR management with its new product Bayzat Benefits.

Bayzat, a tech startup providing insurance and HR solutions in the MENA market, has raised US$5 million in funding in "a Series A-1 round (meaning a continuation/top up of the earlier Series A funding) from new investors Silicon Badia, and existing investors BECO Capital and Hamed Kanoo Co LLC. According to a statement by Bayzat, this additional funding takes the startup's total investment in this round to over $8 million, besides an initial funding tranche earlier this year from strategic investors, With the startup having already made inroads in the market with their insurance solutions, Bayzat says it aims to utilize the funding to "accelerate the rollout of its popular HR software, Bayzat Benefits," a HR platform that comprises features like leave, employee records, and employee insurance management, among others.

As most of the region's enterprises, especially SMEs, continue to utilize fairly basic Microsoft Office tools to manage their Human Resource (HR) tasks, Bayzat aims to offer a simple and more efficient alternate to streamline processes such as leave management, payroll, employee record maintenance etc. Originally launching as a tech platform for financial advice and health insurance in the UAE, the startup then pivoted to insurance, and then recently also diversified into automation of HR management with its new product Bayzat Benefits.

Commenting on the fundraising, Talal Bayaa, CEO, Bayzat, notes in a statement that Bayzat's decision to focus on developing its HR software was taken from experience. "The Middle East's technology market is undeveloped, particularly in the form of SaaS. Companies are restricted to paper-driven archaic processes because they are not aware of any alternatives. Inefficient procedures like manual employee record management and payroll are a drain on businesses and their employees, and yet it continues to flourish here; one of the most forward-thinking countries on the planet! It's a pain point we see across the region that desperately needs resolving," says Bayaa.

"Bayzat's dual strategy and core focus on building unique technology for this market is what attracted us to this business initially. Add a stellar management team and you have a recipe for success in a highly fragmented and inefficient industry," Namek Zu'bi, Managing Partner, Silicon Badia, said in a statement, commenting on the investment. Amir Farha, Managing Partner at BECO Capital, said, "Talal and his leadership team continue to learn and build out extremely exciting and novel products for the regions' SMEs. They understood their customers pain points and have developed solutions, specifically for HR and employee benefits, that will transform the way SMEs manage and engage with their staff. The HR platform has become an integral part of the Bayzat overall suite of services, as the company looks to launch several new features over the next 12 months that will continue to create enormous efficiencies for their customers."

Since its launch in 2015, Bayzat says it has experienced over 350% increase in revenue. This growth, it says, has been primarily driven by the UAE Government's decision to make employee health insurance mandatory, and the growing need for technology support for both insurance and HR-related business processes. With a foothold in the insurance landscape, Bayzat now aims to develop its new HR automation platform. While the startup proposes to continue working on their insurance vertical for the region (that currently supports over 18,000 insured), the company says that as a primary goal, it aims to continue accelerating on new product developments for its HR software.

Related: "We Got Funded!": HR Technology Startup Bayzat Closes US$3 Million Funding Round