US $3.7 M seed extension funding raised by Kenyan insurtech startup Lami

A seed extension round of US $3.7 million has been obtained by Kenyan B2B and B2B2C insurance-as-a-service platform and API Lami to support its African growth.

Jihan Abass founded Lami, a digital insurance platform, in 2018. Through Lami’s API, partner companies, such as banks, tech firms, and other organizations, may simply and smoothly provide their consumers with digital insurance products.

The startup, which Catalyst Fund selected as a member of the eighth cohort of its inclusive fintech accelerator and received US $1.8 million in seed funding last year, can be used by partner companies to manage their own insurance needs. It also links partner organizations with underwriters and enables them to provide a superior customer journey.

Harlem Capital, an early-stage venture fund that invests in seed-stage tech-enabled enterprises with a focus on minority and female entrepreneurs, led the seed extension round. Early-stage venture capital company Newtown Partners, Peter Bruce-Clark, a partner at research-driven venture capital firm Social Impact Capital in New York, Caribou Honig and Jay Weintraub of InsureTech Connect, a networking platform for insurtech innovators, and senior members from corporate finance and M&A boutique Exotix Advisory, specializing in emerging and developing markets, participated in the round.

The increased cash, according to Lami founder and CEO Jihan Abass, would be utilized for company development, product and technology development, and expansion into new nations including Egypt, Nigeria, and Uganda.

“Lami is pioneering innovation in the insurance sector, and we are glad to have secured the right partners to help drive insurance uptake across Africa. We are looking to make insurance easily accessible to everyone on the continent, and we will continually be unveiling more products that confirm this resolve,” she said.

According to Harlem Capital, Lami’s broad market reach and smart growth strategy appealed to them.

“We believe the next wave of fintech will embed financial products and services like insurance into a customer’s purchase experience. Lami’s approach to serving people through strategic partners in e-commerce and finance is the best way to build trust with users and deliver insurance in a seamless, accessible way to Africans across the continent. Lami’s impressive growth to date shows that this resonates with customers and has a strong trajectory as they expand across the continent,” said Harlem Capital principal Gabby Cazeau.