Curacel, a Nigerian-based insurtech startup that aims to bring modern insurance infrastructure to emerging markets has secured $3 million in seed funding to expand into North Africa, including Egypt , Morocco, and other parts of the continent.
The funding was led by Covergenius, Zopper, and Pie Insurance, with participation from Tencent, AAF Management, Elefund, and other strategic investors.
Henry Mascot, CEO and co-founder of Curacel said, the funding will enable the company to deliver on its vision and onboard people who have built technologies at scale in more mature markets. He said that the right technology in the right places can close the protection gap in Africa and emerging markets, and Curacel hopes to become the most recognized insurtech ecosystem by staying ahead of the competition.
Founded by Henry Mascot and John Dada in 2019,Curacel offers AI-powered infrastructure that enables insurers to automate and settle legitimate claims, reducing fraudulent claims and losses.
According to Mascot ,when started in 2019,their focus was about solving a problem for health insurance companies around the infrastructure for digitizing claims. Insurance companies across the continent were losing about 20% of their premiums to fraud, waste and abuse. Something needed to be done to cut down on fraud so that insurance companies can reinvest into creating cheaper products for the end consumer.
Its embedded insurance product Grow, is used by over 100 companies, including banks, fintechs, logistics and e-commerce platforms across eight African markets: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Morocco and Egypt.
Claims automation is solely targeted at insurance companies, which use the platform to improve efficiency and accuracy of their claims processes; Curacel has 20 of them as partners at the moment, including AXA Mansard, Old Mutual and Jubilee Insurance.
Its AI-powered infrastructure means claims can be submitted and processed in real-time, helping insurers reduce their claims cycle by more than 70% and process up to 10x more claims.
The insurtech, which works with more than 5,000 service providers across its eight markets, claims to have processed more than $100 million worth of claims since inception.Last year, Curacel grew its transaction volume by 600% and increased its revenue by 500%, it said in a statement.
Although Curacel currently focuses on claims and distribution, Mascot said ,they intend to add underwriting and insurance payment services via its APIs. Diversifying its products is one way it wants to stay ahead of the competition, which is becoming fierce in Africa’s insurtech landscapes.
