Kenya-based insurance technology (insurtech) firm Lami Technologies recently raised USD 1.8 million in a seed investment round led by Accion Venture Lab, a unit of US-based NGO Accion. Lami provides a digital platform through which firms offer instant quotations and the subsequent distribution of insurance products. The other participants in the funding round are also US-based. They were Acuity Ventures, Arlington Asset Investment, Consonance Capital, Continent Venture Partners, Future Africa and P1 Ventures.
Jihan Abass, Founder and CEO of Lami, said, “this funding will allow us to invest in hiring more people, improving our technology and growing our presence across Africa so we can continue to address the persistent insurance gap. By enabling our business partners to offer customized insurance solutions, we are helping them provide more value to their customers, while enabling large volumes of users to access insurance, often for the first time.”
Founded in 2018, Lami Technologies has sold 5,000 policies in Kenya, spanning 30 products including medical, motor, employee benefits and electronic device insurance as of 2021.
Founded in 2019, Accion Venture Lab is a seed-stage investor providing equity and technical assistance to financial technology firms targeting underserved populations. By December 2019, its capital pool was valued at USD 33 million, and its partners insured 2 million customers. Through early 2021, Accion Venture Lab has invested in 50 startups in 30 countries.
Founded in 1961, Accion is a nonprofit that seeks to alleviate poverty by offering services such as microenterprise loans and business training. As of 2021, Accion had approximately 160 partners serving 8.3 million customers in 55 countries across Africa, the Americas and Asia. Accion also invests through Accion Global Investments and Accion Frontier Investments as well as conducting research via the Center for Financial Inclusion. During 2019, Accion brought in revenue totaling USD 28 million, expended USD 32 million and closed the year with total assets of USD 433 million.
By Sophie Fiala, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Accion press release
https://www.accion.org/lami-technologies-closes-1-8-million-seed-funding-to-accelerate-growth-of-digital-insurance-in-africa
Accion homepage
https://www.accion.org/
Accion 2019 financial statement
https://content.accion.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2019-ACCION-International-and-Subsidiaries-FS.pdf
Acuity Ventures homepage
https://acuityvc.com/
Arlington Asset Investment homepage
https://www.arlingtonasset.com/
Consonance homepage
https://www.consonancecapital.com/
Continent Venture Partners homepage
https://www.continent.vc/
Future Africa homepage
https://future.africa/
Lami Technologies homepage
https://www.lami.world/
P1 Ventures homepage
https://www.p1.ventures/
Previous MicroCapital article on Accion
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-accion-venture-lab-invests-equity-in-terramagna-fintech-using-satellite-imagery-to-help-agribusinesses-lend-to-farmers-in-brazil/
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