The Bimalab Africa Insurtech Accelerator Program, initiated by FSD Africa, has recently been granted a significant investment of $600,000 from the Swiss Re Foundation. This funding will allow the program to extend its operations more comprehensively across the African continent.
The program, which formerly covered 10 African countries, will now include an additional five, namely: Tanzania, Tunisia, Senegal, Zambia, Malawi, and Somalia. Hence, the total number will climb to 15 countries, marking a significant increase from the 10 covered as of 2023.
The support provided by the Swiss Re Foundation is expected to continue until 2025. During this period, BimaLab aims to utilize this backing to further expand its influence, thereby facilitating the acceleration of 55 insurtechs across these 15 African nations.
In its earlier stages, the accelerator provided help to insurtech enterprises in 10 different African countries – Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.
First launched in 2020 by FSD Africa and based in Kenya, the BimaLab Africa Insurtech Accelerator Program has received support from the Swiss Re Foundation since 2023. The directive of this program is to offer practical venture-building support to insurtech start-ups. These start-ups, in turn, work towards sustaining communities and businesses that are under-served and vulnerable to climate change.
Moreover, this program makes significant strides in building an ecosystem consisting of insurance innovators, technological partners, insurance firms, investors, and regulators. The primary goal of creating such a network is to secure capital, draw in talent, and further democratize the delivery of insurance solutions.
The initiative’s main objective is to tackle pressing issues such as climate change, health, and gender disparities. Additionally, it seeks to overcome obstacles faced by micro, small, and medium-sized insurance businesses. It believes that by addressing these challenges, it can assist these businesses in reaching their full potential and making a greater impact on their communities.
In 2022, 80% of Africa’s total economic losses were due to the protection gap, defined as uninsured losses from natural disasters. This percentage reflects a considerable rise of 22% from 2021, underscoring the pressing need for customized, innovative insurance solutions to address this disparity.
The gap between insured and uninsured losses due to natural disasters in Africa shines a light on the devastating impact of these calamities and the scarcity of financial resources to safeguard businesses and communities against them.
Director of the Swiss Re Foundation, Stefan Huber Fux, highlighted the importance of insurance as a proactive measure. He explained that insurance provides a safety net for individuals and businesses that find themselves facing circumstances such as natural disasters, health crises, or economic disruptions.
In response to this need, Bimalab Africa is establishing a dynamic insurtech ecosystem. This network aims to nurture the development of insurtech companies and aid them in reaching underserved markets, communities, and households across the African continent. The overarching goal is to provide these vulnerable populations with enhanced access to insurance solutions and better protection against unforeseen challenges.
Elias Omondi, the Bimalab Africa Programme Lead, has reported significant growth and success over the past four years. Specifically, the initiative has bolstered 63 startups during this time and catalyzed the development of three regulatory sandboxes, which are frameworks that allow live testing of innovations in controlled environments.
Investors have shown substantial support for this initiative, backing 10 ventures with more than $10 million in financing. This generous investment has fueled the creation and rollout of 40 developed products, which have successfully reached over 3 million new customers throughout the African continent thus far. The transformative impact of these innovations is a testament to the initiative’s effectiveness and its potential for future growth and expansion.
