Riyadh-based Yasmina has announced a $2 million seed round to grow its embedded‑insurance platform, which the company describes as the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia.. The round was co-led by Scene Holding and Access Bridge Ventures, with participation from Arzan VC, and the Sanabil Investment Accelerator by 500 MENA.
Founded in 2023 by Masoud Alhelou and Bashar Abalkhail, Yasmina integrates insurance directly into digital customer journeys, via a single API, allowing platforms in HR, auto, real estate, travel, and point-of-sale to offer protection products at checkout. With full regulatory approval in Saudi, Yasmina says its tech can onboard partners in under 48 hours.
The startup has already signed deals giving it access to over 1.5 million users and offers SME medical, life, motor, and general insurance in collaboration with insurers. Its next steps: expanding into the UAE this year, and Egypt in 2026.
“This is a strong vote of confidence in our vision to simplify insurance across digital touchpoints,” said Alhelou.
Embedded insurance remains early in the Gulf, but investors are betting Yasmina’s infrastructure-first approach and regulatory head start could give it an advantage. Scene Holding’s Sultan Ghaznawi described it as “at the intersection of insurtech, fintech, and protection,” while Access Bridge’s Rakan AlRashed said it may be “the breakout player the market has been waiting for.”
Yasmina is among a new wave of regional startups rethinking traditional insurance distribution, not through aggregators, but by integrating insurance at the point of digital transaction, where the customer intent already exists – global proxies include Cover Genius or Lemonade.
