Turaco, a leading insurtech driving mass market insurance adoption in Africa, has announced the close of a $10 million Series A equity round to drive its capacity as a low-cost insurance provider designing and delivering simple, affordable insurance to unserved and underserved customers.
With over 500 million mobile subscribers in Africa, most of whom are uninsured, the company noted that the latest round of funding further places it in a strong position to address the untapped African market, doubling down its expansion efforts through strategic partnerships. As a result, Turaco said it will continue to power innovation in inclusive insurance as well as stand firmly at the forefront of the continent’s rapidly growing insurance sector.
Commenting on the fundraise,Ted Pantone, Turaco CEO and co-founder, said the insurtech company is proud to help drive insurance adoption, especially among low-income earners.
According to Pantone, 90 percent of the company’s customers have never had insurance before as they don’t have easy access to products that really work for them, but are willing to buy insurance.
“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,” he added.
Patricia Rinke, investment officer at AfricInvest, said, “In our interactions with Ted and his team, we could see a great vision and flawless execution coming together. The company’s innovative distribution model responds to the unmet demand in the African insurance sector, and we look forward to working with Turaco as they continue to build on their early success.”
Yassine Oussaifi, partner at AfricInvest and co-head of CAIF, remarked that the insurance penetration in sub-Saharan Africa, which is below 3 percent, is one of the lowest rates globally.
He said Turaco has developed the tools and know-how to fill the gap and reach low-income earners with products adapted to their needs, thus being a critical part of the push to help shield the most disadvantaged from unforeseen financial burdens and shocks.
“We are pleased to support Turaco as it scales further and has a positive impact on the continent,” he added.
Olúwatóyìn Emmanuel-Olubake, investment director at Novastar Ventures, noted that Turaco has grown over 300 percent since its initial investment in 2020. The recently acquired capital, she said, would help the company to further grow its world-class team, develop new products, accelerate partnerships and access new markets in service of its goal to mitigate the impact of daily shocks for millions of vulnerable people across Africa.
“We are excited to continue partnering with the exceptional team at Turaco and welcome new investors including AfricInvest, Global Partnerships and Enza Capital to this journey,” she said.
Founded in 2019, Turaco is a distributor, broker, and key customer interface between the underwriter and the end consumer. The insurtech company which currently operates in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda has designed and delivered a suite of bespoke medical, life, asset, and vehicle insurance packages. It has also opened up an extremely large market and innovated for mass market consumers by providing a cutting-edge solution that will drive inclusive insurance.
The company embeds its service as a white-labelled offering that is bundled with a partner’s core product or service while integrating with their existing payment processes to collect premiums. With a robust API integration which allows for easy collaboration with its external partners, Turaco also enables companies to integrate insurance into their products and services efficiently and at no additional risk or cost.
Since inception, the technology-enabled insurance platform has grown to become a market leader at the forefront of innovative insurance solutions.
