Casava, Nigeria’s first 100 percent digital insurance firm, has received US $4 million in pre-seed capital to help millions of Nigerians get inexpensive and accessible insurance.
Casava, which was founded last year, promises to make insurance more accessible for low-income people by combining technology, behavioural science, and empathy. The firm is vertically integrated, having its own microinsurance carrier in Nigeria and a complete technology stack to support it.
Target Global led the pre-seed fundraising round, which included Entrée Capital, Oliver Jung, Monzo founder Tom Blomfield, and Stash founders Ed Robinson and Brandon Krieg. Uche Pedro, Babs Ogundeyi, Musty Mustapha, Shola Akinlade, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Honey Ogundeyi, Opeyemi Awoyemi, and others were among the African founders who took part in the round.
The fresh funds will be used to assist client acquisition and expansion, as well as product and technology stack development. Casava already has over 66,000 subscribers and a $16 million insurance policy in place. Subscribers to Casava Income Protection may protect their income with an easy-to-use subscription that starts at $1 per month and pays out monthly for six months if they lose their job, becomes sick, or become incapacitated. Subscribers may now add Casava Health, which provides telemedicine access to over 1,000 doctors and 900 hospitals across Nigeria.
Casava’s insurance products can be purchased directly through the company’s website, mobile app, or WhatsApp. It will also collaborate with fintech and digital partners to integrate insurance into its services, using over 500,000 financial service agents to reach clients across the country. Casava will provide these agents with the ability to sell insurance and earn commissions from their consumers on a regular basis.
“Our mission is to provide affordable insurance for Nigerians and other Africans and we are happy to have raised these funds from an exciting group of investors,” said Bode Pedro, founder and CEO of Casava, “With less than one percent of the country insured, Nigeria (and Africa) is an untapped insurance market. We want to address the barriers that hinder adoption and add value to consumers across the country.”
Casava has seen a significant chance to treat a long-standing problem for many Nigerians and Africans, according to Dr. Ricardo Schäfer, a partner at Target Global.
“We are excited to support their mission to make insurance more accessible. One of the first of their kind in the region, Casava has the potential to transform the lives and livelihood of millions of people,” he said.
