Insurtech startup Turaco insures over 1 million people across Africa

By Cynthia Ezekwe 

Turaco, a micro-insurtech company that offers simple, affordable health and life insurance to low-income earners, has announced that it has insured over 1,000,000 people across Africa.

The insurance company said the feat is part of its commitment to changing health care financing in emerging markets operating in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, as well as providing access to a much needed safety net against financial shocks to mass market consumers.

According to Turaco, about 89 million Africans face a catastrophic health event annually, spending up to 10 per cent  of their income on a single event, and health shocks push 14 million Africans into poverty each year. This, it explained, is because less than  2 per cent  of people in East and West Africa have access to insurance.

To this end Turaco said it has expanded access to affordable and simple insurance products by forming partnerships with top tech-enabled companies such as M-KOPA, Paga, One Acre Fund, and Vision Fund to design white-labeled products. Through this, customers able to sign-up and pay for insurance as they buy these other products or services.

Commenting on the achievements, Ted Patone, CEO and co-founder, Turaco said, “We founded Turaco with a vision to insure the next 1 billion people. Surpassing 1 million customers is an important and validating milestone in that process. More importantly, this number represents 1,000,000 individual mothers, fathers, children, and community members that have access to better health care and improved financial resiliency as a result of Turaco insurance. We are excited to continue on our path to 1 billion people insured.”

Prior to the latest development, Turaco raised a $10m Series A in September 2022, and is using that investment to grow rapidly across Africa.