South African insurtech Inclusivity Solutions attracts $1.3m funding

Cape Town-based insurtech start-up Inclusivity Solutions has secured $1.3 million in its second tranche of Series A funding.

The company aims to expand its digital insurance solutions dedicated to address risks such as COVID-19 faced by the majority underserved consumers in emerging markets.

The investment, which brings the total Series A round to $2.6 million, was led by Goodwell Investments, UW Ventures and Pan-African fintech company MFS Africa, who has joined as a new investor.

The start-up has already launched digital insurance initiatives in Cote d’Ivoire, Rwanda and Kenya, in partnership with Orange, Airtel and Equity Bank’s Equitel, respectively, providing protection to more than 700,000 people.

Inclusivity said the investment will be used to deepen the company’s footprint within its existing markets, support further international expansion as well as accelerate innovation in the backbone technology platform, ASPin, which underpins its three existing products.

Jeremy Leach, founder and CEO, said: “As the humanitarian and economic disaster that is COVID-19 unfolds, we are reassured that there could not be a more important time for insurance solutions such as ours to play a role in protecting the vulnerable. This investment provides the endorsement and support that we need as an organization to continue our work in designing and scaling products that address the risks that really matter and can play a real role in adding value to consumers, as well as offering a digital-ready solution to insurers during operationally challenging times.”

Wim van der Beek, managing partner Goodwell Investments, said: “Our investment focus is inclusive growth, and we believe that collaborative insurtech solutions like Inclusivity Solutions are best positioned to reach large numbers of underserved consumers. Their model bridges the insurance protection gap for underserved through products that are designed to be simple, affordable and accessible, even on the most basic mobile phone.”

Harry Apostoleris, director of UW Ventures, commented: “We could not think of a more relevant time for this additional support to Inclusivity Solutions to further their mission of designing innovative and inclusive financial products while developing insurance markets to protect and serve vulnerable communities across the developing world. We believe there is a huge opportunity to bring affordable health and life insurance to those communities that may be the most ill-equipped to deal with catastrophes such as COVID-19, and we are excited to partner with Jeremy Leach and his exceptional team to help achieve their ambitions.”

Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO of MFS Africa, commented: “We share a passion for impact through technology, and a drive to innovate and implement. We at MFS Africa are very proud to be part of their next stage of growth.”