Kenyan insurtech startup mTek has secured US$3 million in funding from the Mauritius-based Finclusion Group to help it expand across the East Africa region.
Launched in 2020, mTek is a digital platform that provides an entirely paperless ecosystem for the insurance industry, and allows customers to purchase insurance directly from the insurer, compare insurance policies and file claims through their smart devices.
The startup has now secured investment from Africa-focused fintech platform Finclusion Group, to date totaling US$3 million, through both debt and equity. The funding will be used to accelerate mTek’s growth in the Kenyan marketplace through continual improvements to the platform and the expansion of its customer base.
mTek CEO Bente Krogmann said the investment was a milestone and an indication of pan-African investors’ confidence in the startup’s purpose, business model and philosophy.
“With this investment, we will be able to commence our expansion within Kenya through 25 Finclusion Group branches where we will offer agents training. The investment will help us create fully digital, market-ready insurance offerings that are both easily accessible and affordable for the uninsured. We hope to be able to further expand into six African countries over the next two years,” she said.
Finclusion Group co-CEO Timothy Nuy said mTek’s capability to offer paperless insurance addressed a critical market pain point.
“As a group, we remain committed to driving financial inclusion on the African continent through innovative technology and significant investments that can broker lasting change, identifying and addressing present and future market needs. mTek’s platform has allowed for greater transparency in both the insurance and telehealth industries, and we are pleased to partner with such technology that delivers – for the first time – paperless insurance in Africa,” said Nuy.
“As health financing reforms in Kenya have peaked stakeholder interests from both the public and private sector, we take a long-game approach to this investment. The ‘one-stop shop’, the holistic plug-and-play insurance tech offering pioneered by mTek, is replicable nation to nation, the continent over. We look forward to playing a lead role in that process.”
mTek expects to reach one million users through its innovative insurance offering by 2024 as it achieves its mission to provide insurance to the uninsured.
