Joy Agwunobi
Leadway Assurance has partnered with Paga, a fintech company to embed insurance solutions directly into Doroki, Paga’s merchant platform, a move aimed at strengthening risk protection for thousands of small and medium-sized businesses operating within the country’s retail economy.
The collaboration brings insurance coverage closer to merchants who rely on Doroki for payments, inventory management, and day-to-day business operations. By embedding insurance products into a platform merchants already use, the partners are seeking to remove long-standing barriers to insurance adoption, including complexity, low awareness, and limited trust.
Under the arrangement, Doroki merchants will have access to insurance products designed around the realities of everyday business risks. These include protection for income, assets, and operational continuity, helping merchants recover more quickly from disruptions such as property damage, theft, or other unforeseen events that can stall business activities and erode earnings.
A joint statement from both companies noted that the initiative goes beyond simply offering insurance policies. The partnership is structured to ensure merchants understand what each product covers, how claims can be filed, and what steps can be taken to reduce exposure to risk. By pairing coverage with education, Leadway and Doroki aim to build confidence among merchants who have historically viewed insurance as either too complicated or out of reach.
Arike Okwunowo, general manager of Doroki Merchants, described the partnership as a strategic step toward supporting merchants as core contributors to Nigeria’s economic activity. According to her, Doroki’s focus has always been on enabling merchants to grow and operate efficiently, and embedding insurance into the platform adds another layer of stability to that mission.
She said the partnership with Leadway, an insurer with decades of experience in the Nigerian market, allows Doroki merchants to concentrate on expansion and service delivery, knowing that safeguards are in place to protect their livelihoods.
From Leadway’s perspective, the collaboration aligns with its broader digital strategy and commitment to widening access to insurance. Diana Mulili, head of digital business at Leadway Assurance, said integrating insurance into Doroki reflects the company’s belief that financial protection should be simple, practical, and seamlessly woven into platforms people already trust.
Mulili noted that by meeting merchants within their existing digital workflows, the partnership reduces friction and makes insurance a natural part of running a business rather than an afterthought. She added that the goal is to help merchants protect their income and assets while continuing to grow with confidence in an increasingly unpredictable business environment.
The partnership also reflects a wider shift in Nigeria’s financial services sector, where fintech platforms are increasingly being used to distribute insurance and other financial products to underserved segments. For small businesses that often operate without formal risk protection, such embedded insurance models offer a pathway to greater resilience and long-term sustainability.
As economic uncertainty and operational risks continue to weigh on small businesses, the integration of insurance into Doroki positions the platform not just as a transaction tool, but as a broader support system for merchants.
By combining digital payments with risk protection, Leadway and Paga are betting that insurance adoption will grow when it is made more accessible, understandable, and closely aligned with the everyday realities of Nigerian entrepreneurs.
