Kenyan startup Turaco, an insurtech platform driving mass market insurance adoption, has announced the close of a US$10 million Series A equity funding round to help it double down on expansion via strategic partnerships.
Founded in 2019, Turaco is a distributor, broker, and key customer interface between the underwriter and the end consumer. Its B2B and B2B2C business model sees it form partnerships with top tech-enabled companies with a large pool of customers or staff in emerging markets, including some of the continent’s most trusted brands such as Sun King, One Acre Fund, Tugende, M-KOPA and VisionFund.
Through its active partnerships, the insurtech has designed and delivered a suite of bespoke medical, life, asset, and vehicle insurance packages that have already covered over half a million lives across Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.
The US$10 million Series A round was led by AfricInvest, via the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund, and existing investor Novastar Ventures. The round also included participation from Enza Capital, Global Partnerships, Zephyr Acorn, Operator Stack, Asi Ventures Limited, and Push Ventures.
There are over 500 million mobile subscribers in Africa, most of whom are uninsured. The latest round of funding places Turaco in a strong position to address this untapped market, doubling down its expansion efforts through strategic partnerships.
Targeted at underserved customers and low-income earners, Turaco 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 enables companies to integrate insurance into their products and services efficiently, and at no additional risk or cost.
Since launch, the technology-enabled insurance platform has grown to become a market leader at the forefront of innovative insurance solutions. Its products are priced at around US$2 per month, with straightforward terms and conditions and a fully digitised claims process that allows claimants to file via WhatsApp or phone call, paying out in less than three days via mobile money.
“We are proud to help drive insurance adoption, especially among low-income earners. 90 per cent of our customers have never had insurance before, but the surprising thing is that people really want to buy insurance! They just don’t have easy access to products that really work for them. 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,” said Turaco CEO and co-founder Ted Pantone.
Patricia Rinke, investment officer at AfricInvest, said her firm’s interactions with Pantone and his team had revealed “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,” she said.
