East African financial services group Jubilee and development agency FSD Africa have partnered with seven insurtech startups from the BimaLab Africa accelerator network to develop and pilot affordable insurance products for underserved Kenyans.
BimaLab, an FSD Africa initiative, has supported 135 startups across 28 African countries over the past six years, helping develop more than 300 insurance solutions that now reach over 6.5 million customers.
The programme targets SMEs, informal sector workers, farmers and low-income households, segments that remain largely uninsured. East Africa is estimated to have more than 10 million SMEs, which account for over 70 per cent of jobs, yet insurance penetration among the segment averages about one per cent.
The seven firms – Dukatech Solutions, Aura Insure Technologies, Inclusivity Solutions, DPE, Fiinovate, Agrails and Ibisa Network – were selected through a competitive process from BimaLab’s alumni network. They will go through an eight-week product co-creation process with Jubilee before joint pilots kick off in Kenya next month.
The work will focus on three areas – low-cost bundled and embedded insurance distribution, insurance solutions for SME ecosystems, and wellness and engagement models that link customers to health and care services. Successful solutions could later be rolled out in other East African markets.
“There is a large group of Kenyans who work, earn and run businesses every day but still have little or no insurance coverage. We need to meet people where they are, with products that are affordable, relevant and simple to access,” said Juan Cazcarra, deputy group CEO of Jubilee Group.
“Working with these seven insurtechs gives us a practical way to test different products and distribution models with customers and learn what works.”
At Jubilee, the programme will be run through J-Hub, the group’s innovation and technology arm.
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