E-insurance firm Turaco has netted $10 million in a Series A equity round led by AfricInvest, via the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund, and existing investor, Novastar Ventures.
The round also included participation from Enza Capital, Global Partnerships, Zephyr Acorn, Operator Stack, Asi Ventures Limited, and Push Ventures.
Founded in 2019, Turaco is a distributor, broker, and key customer interface between the underwriter and the end consumer.
The firm says that it is able to achieve this through a B2B and B2B2C business model, forming partnerships with tech-enabled companies with a large pool of customers or staff in emerging markets, including brands such as Sun King, One Acre Fund, Tugende, M-KOPA, and VisionFund.
Through its active partnerships, the insurtech has designed and delivered a suite of medical, life, asset, and vehicle insurance packages across Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.
In Africa, 90% of people have no formal safety net to catch them if they get sick or are in an accident.
Of course, insurance is still very much in its infancy. Most African insurance underwriters and intermediaries use rigid systems that do not allow for integration with external partners, with many still using paper-based processes.
To this end,Turaco is building in a largely untapped sector, opening up a huge market and innovating for mass market consumers by providing a solution that will drive inclusive insurance.
Targeted at underserved customers and low-income earners, Turaco embeds its service as a white-labeled offering that is bundled with a partner’s core product or service while integrating with their existing payment processes to collect premiums.
With API integration that allows for easy collaboration with its external partners, Turaco enables companies to integrate insurance into their products and services efficiently and at no additional risk or cost.
For example, in 2019, Turaco partnered with M-KOPA to embed insurance with M-KOPA’s products for the company’s customers and direct sales representatives.
Now active in three countries, insurance is used to drive revenue, as well as customer and agent retention and resiliency.
Since its launch, the technology-enabled insurance platform lauds itself as a market leader at the forefront of innovative insurance solutions.
Turaco products are priced at around KES 250 a month, with straightforward terms and conditions and a digitized claims process that allows claimants to file via WhatsApp or phone call, paying out in less than three days via mobile money.
Quotes
Turaco CEO and co-founder Ted Pantone said, “We are proud to help drive insurance adoption, especially among low-income earners. 90% of our customers have never had insurance before, but the surprising thing is that people really want to buy insurance! They just don’t have easy access to products that really work for them. This investment enables us to scale our business to serve millions of insurance customers across our current markets and beyond. We are thrilled to have these great new investors join our team for this next season of growth.”
