$11 M raised in Series A Naspers led funding round by SA Insurtech startup Naked
AI and Automation are used to develop a new form of insurance experience, co-founded by the actuaries Alex Thomson, Sumarie Greybe and Ernest North, Naked which was released on the market in 2018.
Consumers can benefit from lower costs and more control of their insurance experience and convenience. In less than 90 seconds, they can receive an insurance quote for their home, contents, stand-alone goods, or cars online without having to speak to a contact center agent and can either switch or pause coverage online.
In order to assist accelerate its expansion, Naked received a fundraising round of ZAR160M (US$11M) series A. The round will be led by Naspers, whose balance sheets are financed by current investors Yellowwoods and Hollar and have been invested by ZAR 120 million (8,3 million dollars). Naspers is still one of the world’s largest investors in technology, through its founding fund, which was launched in October 2018, ZAR1.4 billion (USD 96 million). Investment in SweepSouth, Aerobotics, the food network, Student Hub, WhereIsMyTransportation, and Ctrl was previously made by Naspers Foundry.
In support of its expansion ambitions and achievement in the reconstruction of social good insurance Naked uses the funds.
“Our ambition is to build insurance that people love by offering an experience that is affordable, convenient, and transparent. We have come a long way since our launch in 2018 towards meeting these goals, including enabling customers to buy cover online in seconds, allowing them to claim and manage cover on our award-winning app, and passing on huge savings through sustainably lower premiums,” said Thomson.
“But this is just the start of our journey to reinvent insurance. We are excited to have an investor of Naspers Foundry’s caliber onboard to work with us as we expand our team, continue to invest in the technology that puts customers in control, meet the insurance needs of a growing portion of the South Africa market and enter into international markets.”
Southern Africans were often under-insured in terms of short-term personal insurance. Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Naspers, remarked.
“While this is often due to price, consumer distrust and complexity have led to a misunderstanding of insurance. Naked’s offering is convenient, transparent, and passes the cost savings from its innovative technology on to customers. It improves financial inclusion, in line with Naspers Foundry’s objective of investing in technology businesses that have a positive impact on society,” she said.
Fabian Whate, Head of the Naspers Foundry said the fund was delighted to help Naked on his mission to develop a new insurance generation, enabling the consumer with end-to-end digital processes to gain convenience, control, and savings.
“This fits in with our focus on backing purpose-driven technology businesses. Investing in Naked is consistent with the portfolio we’ve built to date and Naspers Foundry’s healthy pipeline of potential future investments,” he said.
