$3 M Seed funding raised by Nigerian insurtech startup Curacel for North African expansion
Curacel, an AI-powered platform for claims processing and fraud management in Africa, was founded in Nigeria and has raised US $3 million in early investment to launch new products and assist its growth in North Africa.
Curacel, a 2017 startup, automates the insurance claims process so that personnel can handle large numbers of claims quickly and effectively. It also automatically verifies claims to look for fraud, waste, and abuse.
The startup, which started out as an electronic health information management system, has evolved into an insurtech infrastructure business that uses cloud-based tools and APIs to assist partners and insurers in expanding the reach and usefulness of insurance in Africa and other emerging countries.
Curacel, a participant in the elite Y Combinator accelerator’s Winter 2022 cohort in Silicon Valley, debuted Grow last year as a new product to support more efficient insurance distribution to millions of Africans through partners like Barter by Flutterwave, Float, Payhippo, and other top technology firms. Moreover, it permits the seamless integration of insurance into client user experiences.
In order to launch innovative technological solutions intended to power the next generation of insurance experiences in Africa, the firm has already acquired US $3 million in venture investment. Also, the investment would help the business grow throughout North Africa.
James Park, the CEO of Fitbit, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, the CEO of Flutterwave, Babs Ogundeyi, the CEO of Kuda, and other strategic investors are among the investors in the round, along with Tencent, AAF Management, Elefund, Blue Point Capital Partners, Pioneer Fund, Olive Tree Capital, and Y Combinator. The financing also includes the addition of senior executives from Covergenius, Zopper, and Pie Insurance to Curacel’s advisory board.
With Grow, Curacel’s embedded insurance product, more than 100 banks, fintechs, logistics providers, and other tech-enabled businesses are given the ability to boost their recurring revenues by providing digital insurance products that are seamlessly integrated into their current goods and services, fostering much-needed insurance penetration and client loyalty.
Major insurers including AXA Mansard, Liberty Health, Old Mutual, and Jubilee Health all use Curacel’s technology, which leads the industry, to enhance the speed and accuracy of their claims processes. The company’s AI-powered infrastructure enables real-time claim submission and processing, allowing insurers to handle up to 10 times as many claims while cutting their claims cycle by more than 70%.
Working with more than 20 insurers and more than 5,000 service providers in eight different nations throughout the continent, Curacel has handled claims totaling more than US $100 million. The number of transactions processed by Curacel climbed by 600% in 2022, while its income increased by 50%. With the additional capital, the business will be able to expand its services throughout North Africa, beginning with Egypt and Morocco, and establish a stronger footprint elsewhere on the continent.
“We are bullish on the potential of the right technology in the right places to close the protection gap across Africa and emerging markets. It is an exciting time for us as we secure the capital to deliver the vision and onboard the people who have built these technologies at scale in more mature markets, and we are looking forward to delivering more technology solutions to drive up insurance inclusion,” said Henry Mascot, CEO and co-founder of Curacel.
