Doage, a new insurance technology advisory and commercialisation platform founded by insurance executive Dominic Agesa Kavugwi, has launched with a focus on helping African InsurTech startups convert innovation and investment into sustainable commercial growth.
The launch comes as Africa’s InsurTech industry continues to attract record investment while founders face increasing pressure to demonstrate revenue growth and long-term viability. AfricInvest’s 2026 African InsurTech Landscape report estimates that more than US$300 million has been invested in African InsurTech startups over the past five years, with annual funding reaching a record US$80.6 million in 2025. The report forecasts Africa’s insurance market will expand from US$92.9 billion in 2024 to US$160.9 billion by 2033.
The broader African startup ecosystem has also become more selective. Only 178 African technology startups secured funding in 2025, although total investment recovered to more than US$1.6 billion, underscoring investors’ growing focus on businesses capable of delivering commercial returns.
Kavugwi said the challenge facing many startups is no longer developing innovative products or raising capital, but successfully taking those products to market.
“Africa does not have a shortage of innovation. What we still have is a commercialisation gap,” he said.
Doage will advise InsurTech startups, insurers, investors and international technology companies on commercial strategy across African markets. Its services include go-to-market planning, enterprise distribution, strategic partnerships, market entry, expansion, investor readiness and revenue growth.
The company said it is positioning itself as a commercialisation partner rather than another accelerator, working with businesses after product development and fundraising to help secure customers, distribution partnerships and sustainable revenue.
It also plans to work with venture capital firms and accelerator programmes to support portfolio companies after investment, helping translate funding into measurable commercial outcomes.
“Investors are very good at allocating capital. Accelerators are very good at identifying and preparing entrepreneurs. Insurers understand risk. Founders understand the problems they are solving. But there is still a question between all of them: who owns commercialisation?” Kavugwi said.
Doage is also developing what it describes as an Africa–Global InsurTech Corridor to connect African startups with international insurers, investors and technology companies, while supporting overseas insurance technology firms seeking to enter African markets through local partnerships instead of building operations from scratch.
According to AfricInvest, 86% of African InsurTech venture funding remains concentrated in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Egypt, highlighting opportunities to expand insurance innovation into other markets across the continent.
Kavugwi, whose career spans insurance, bancassurance, embedded insurance, digital distribution and strategic partnerships, said the industry’s next phase should be measured by sustainable businesses rather than funding alone.
“The next phase of African InsurTech cannot only be about how many startups we accelerate or how much money we raise,” he said. “We also have to ask how many sustainable insurance businesses we build, how much revenue they generate, how many markets they enter and ultimately how much enterprise value they create.”
The Nairobi-based venture is betting that commercial execution, rather than access to capital alone, will determine the next generation of winners in Africa’s growing InsurTech market.
