South African based digital insurance startup, Hepstar, has announced a $2m funding from UK-based technology investor Amadeus Capital.
Hepstar expects to expand its global reach, accelerate development, and grow its brand with this new funding.
This funding is provided for by their Digital Prosperity Fund, which is backed by the MTN Group.
Stephan Ekbergh and Hanno van Aarde founded Hepstar in 2013 with the idea of transforming the insurance market by making insurance products more freely available online through a seamless e-commerce solution. The solution envisioned facilitating the sale of affinity insurance products at the merchant’s point sale and would offer the merchant the opportunity to earn ancillary revenue by acting as a digital insurance reseller.
“We’re extremely pleased about our partnership with Amadeus Capital Partners. They understand our business and vision”, said CFO Brett Dyason. “Hepstar has grown organically to date and we are now anticipating growth of 150% in 2016. This investment will allow us to focus on innovation, sales and local talent acquisition.”
“Amadeus Capital is excited to be involved in Hepstar,” said Andrea Traversone, Investment Partner at Amadeus Capital Partners. “They are solving a real problem regarding insurance distribution during a time when ancillary revenue is becoming increasingly important for E-commerce companies. Given the prowess they have demonstrated in this niche we expect they will be a leading supplier in this market in the near future.”
Over the last year, the company has grown its presence to include Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Australia.
Clients include CarTrawler, South African Airways, ClickBus (including Neredennereye.com), IATI, Flightsite and Travelstart.
