Kestrl

Kestrl is a London-based Islamic fintech that helps Muslims grow their wealth without compromising their religious beliefs. The company addresses a market of roughly 2 billion Muslims globally — and a UK Muslim population of over 2 million — that has historically been underserved by financial institutions, with a survey of 1,000 UK Muslims by Kestrl finding 90% wanted Sharia-compliant services but more than 75% used none.

The product is split across two lines: a consumer app that connects to a user's existing bank accounts via open banking to provide budgeting, halal stock screening and a Sharia-compliant investment marketplace; and a software-as-a-service offering that licenses its personal financial management technology to banks and other fintechs. Kestrl was the first UK Islamic fintech to be open-banking-enabled and operates as an FCA-regulated agent.

The company was founded in 2019 by Cambridge MBAs Areeb Siddiqui and Daeng Termizi. It has raised over £500,000 from angel investors including Sultan Choudhury, the former CEO of Al Rayan Bank, and has signed enterprise partnerships including with Bank Islam in Malaysia. The consumer app is available on iOS and Android.