KENYA – Turaco, a leading insurtech driving mass market insurance adoption across Africa, has announced the close of a US$10 million Series A equity round.

The round which saw participation from Enza Capital, Global Partnerships, Zephyr Acorn, Operator Stack, Asi Ventures Limited, and Push Ventures, was led by AfricInvest, via the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund, and existing investor, Novastar Ventures. 

With 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.

As a result, Turaco will continue to power innovation in inclusive insurance as well as stand firmly at the forefront of the continent’s rapidly growing insurance sector. 

“The 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,” Turaco CEO and co-founder Ted Pantone said.

“We are proud to help drive insurance adoption, especially among low-income earners. 90% 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.”

Turaco is building in a largely untapped sector, opening up an extremely large market and innovating for mass market consumers by providing a cutting-edge solution that will drive inclusive insurance.

“In a continent where 90% of people have no formal safety net to catch them if they get sick or are in an accident. Insurance is still very much in its infancy,” Turaco CEO and co-founder Ted Pantone said.

“Most African insurance underwriters and intermediaries use rigid systems that do not allow for integration with external partners, with many still using paper-based processes.”

One of Turaco’s partners, AfricInvest has expressed satisfaction with the company’s model and drive to promote and meet the unmet demands of insurance in Africa.

“In our interactions with Ted and his team, we could see a great vision and flawless execution coming together,” Patricia Rinke, Investment Officer at AfricInvest commented.

“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.”

Olúwatóyìn Emmanuel-Olubake, Investment Director at Novastar Ventures said that Turaco has grown over 300% since Novastar’s initial investment in 2020.

“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,” he said.

“This capital will 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.”

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