CASE STUDY-Affinis Labs the catalyst to launching innovative Muslim startups
| Affinis Labs | |
| Co-founders | Shahed Amanullah and Quintan Wiktorowicz |
| Headquarters | Washington DC, United States |
| Year launched | 2015 |
| Funds raised | Launched a $5 million private equity fund focused on supporting Digital Islamic Economy startups |
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Affinis Labs is a United States-based incubator with global reach. The incubator provides a working space to entrepreneurs and supports high potential ideas that address the core values and unmet needs of Digital Muslim consumers.
Affinis focuses on for-profit businesses that have a positive social impact on Muslim communities around the world. The company sources opportunities through global hackathons, which are intensive competitions where startups pitch their ideas to a select group of investors.
The company is already supporting several Digital Islamic startups, including LaunchGood (a faith-based crowdfunding platform), and Ishqr (matrimonial services website).
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Launched a $5 million private equity fund to fund startups, within months of starting the company
- Wide media coverage including Fast Company, BBC Arabic, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC News, among others
OPPORTUNITIES BEING ADDRESSED
Significant market potential: Muslims in total contributed ~$107 billion to the Global Digital Economy, accounting for ~6 percent of the total Digital Economy.
In the recent Digital Islamic Economy focus study, produced as part of the State of the Global Islamic Economy report 2015-16 (prepared by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with DinarStandard), on review of a critical mass of consumer-facing Digital Islamic Economy services, the majority were focused primarily on Information and Media Content, as well as Functional Tools and Services related to fulfilling religious activities and duties.
There was significant room for a range of services to better meet the need of younger, educated and digitally-savvy Muslims worldwide, including offerings in the sharing economy, social commerce and food transportation and logistics among several other key opportunities not currently being addressed.
There is a critical need for investors and incubators to support the development of this sector and Affinis labs seeks to address this need.
KEY STRATEGY COMPONENTS
| Sourcing ideas through hackathons |
Filter the most viable startup ideas through hackathons: The company’s strategy is to identify and filter the best startup ideas through a series of global hackathons.
Hackathons are intensive team competitions where ideas are prototyped, iterated, tested and pitched to a live audience, an online crowd and a panel of judges. Winning prototypes - and even some of the runners-up – are funded, incubated, fully-developed, and launched at Affinis Labs. The first ever Digital Islamic Economy hackathon was held in the UAE in April 2015 and brought together entrepreneurs, Islamic scholars and investors. Hackathons were also held in Sydney, Hollywood, and other major cities. They also run social impact hackathons in communities around the world that focus on a wide range of issues, including violent extremism, climate change, human trafficking, and protecting religious minorities. |
| Positioning promising startups for success |
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Some of the companies they are currently supporting include: 1. LaunchGood, the world’s largest faith-based crowdfunding platform; 2. LaunchPosse, an entrepreneurship platform that helps people shape and launch business ideas; 3. Ishqr, a matchmaking platform for Muslim millennials; and 4. AquaBean, which seeks to create a suite of Muslim lifestyle products for modern homes and businesses.
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| Company opportunities |
Aspiring to be a key player in the Digital Islamic Economy: Affinis Labs intends to create an ecosystem of Digital Islamic Services that address the broad range of needs of online Muslim consumers, and is selectively targeting opportunities with its vision for the Digital Islamic Economy in mind. “We’re being very strategic in selecting companies to support at Affinis Labs, as we have our eyes on the Muslim market as it will exist in 5-10 years, not necessarily today…We are interested in companies that produce unique goods and services, which showcase Islamic values in a universal way that even other faiths can appreciate, and creating an ecosystem of businesses that interact with and depend on each other.” Shahed Amanullah, Co-Founder, Affinis Labs (Source: Interview for the Digital Islamic Economy Report 2015 produced by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with DinarStandard) |
| Company challenges |
Funding limitations: The company is limited by the funding it is able to raise and by its space capacity but hopes to resolve this through forging partnerships with other VC firms and securing greater access to capital, through further promoting the hackathon model. “There are too many good ideas that the company would like to support, but (we) are new players and (the company) cannot support all on its own… We wish to partner with other VC firms and incubators around the world, as we all can benefit from this (hackathon) model.” Shahed Amanullah, Co-Founder, Affinis Labs (Source: Interview for the Digital Islamic Economy Report 2015 produced by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with DinarStandard) |
| KEY TAKEAWAYS |
Set a vision: Look at where the market should be in the next 5-10 years and not just the current landscape. |
| Focus on unmet needs in the market: There are several gaps in the Digital Islamic Economy that need to be addressed. | |
| Source opportunities in innovative and effective ways: Hackathons bring ideas, experience and capital together in one place, enabling an effective ranking of different opportunities by investors. |
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