New Danish private equity-backed Muslim lifestyle app planning global push

*Para 2 of this story was corrected to reflect that seed funding equalled $1.05 million and not $600,000 as stated in the original story

A new Muslim lifestyle app backed by a Danish private equity firm is ready to launch in key markets such as Pakistan, UK and the U.S. this year.

Salam Planet received seed funding to the tune of $450,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017 and $600,000 in the second quarter of 2018 from Copenhagen-based Promentum Equity Partners, the start-up’s co-founder Omair Khan told Salaam Gateway.

“We see a strong potential in Salam Planet as a lifestyle platform servicing young urban Muslims’ needs for lifestyle services such as food, fashion, entertainment offered in one social media app,” Irfan Goandal, partner in Promentum Equity Partners said in a statement.

“Promentum Equity Partners strongly believe that the Muslim lifestyle industry is massive and growing fast, hence it’s a promising investment case,” added Goandal.

The PE firm invests in telecommunications, internet, media and entertainment companies.

Salam Planet first launched in Denmark in 2017, followed by Lahore, Pakistan, at the beginning of 2018. The app is now ready to be marketed nationwide across Pakistan in February before launching in the UK. Other key markets will include USA, Canada and Australia, said Khan.

Depending on feedback and response, the app could be launched in Southeast Asia at the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2019, Khan said.

“By the end of 2019 the target is to reach a minimum of one million registered users on Salam Planet,” Khan told Salaam Gateway.

The app currently has around 150,000 downloads and more than 85,000 users, according to Khan.

Apart from the core Islamic offering that includes prayer times, qibla finder and mosque locator, Salam Planet will also offer chat services and allow users to find and make recommendations of halal restaurants and hotels. It will also offer users discounts and focus on events, said Khan.

Salam Planet will compete with similar apps including Muslim Pro, the biggest Islamic app that has been downloaded more than 53 million times. In the middle of last year, the Muslim Pro team said it planned to grow its presence in Southeast Asia and add more lifestyle features, including reviews and suggestions for halal food.

Muslim Pro’s parent company, Singapore-based Bitsmedia, was bought out by private equity firms Affin Hwang and CMIA Capital Partners in August 2017.

Salam Planet’s Khan believes there’s room for other players. “A lot of [Islamic apps] are restricted by the Islamic point of view,” he said.

“We are a social app that is open to everyone. We believe that users are free to discuss and we are not putting restrictions,” he added.

“It’s going to be more focused on lifestyle and not just the Islamic point of view.”

Salam Planet currently has a team of around fifteen people in Pakistan, mainly developers, and three in Denmark.

(Reporting by Emmy Abdul Alim; Editing by Seban Scaria [email protected])

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