Kenya-based insurance technology startup, Lami Technologies has raised a US$ 3.7m seed extension to expand its insurtech product across Africa.
The extension was led by Harlem Capital, an early-stage venture firm that invests in seed-stage tech startups, focused on minority and women founders. Participating in the round were early-stage venture capital firm, Newtown Partners; Peter Bruce-Clark, a partner at New York’s research-driven venture capital company Social Impact Capital; Caribou Honig and Jay Weintraub of InsureTech Connect, a networking platform for insurtech innovators, and senior members from Exotix Advisory, a corporate finance and M&A boutique focused on emerging and developing markets.
It follows on last year’s US$ 1.8m round led by seed-stage investment firm Accion Venture Lab, which had the participation of AAIC, Consonance, P1 Ventures, Acuity Ventures, The Continent Venture Partners, and Future Africa.
Lami founder and CEO Jihan Abass says the additional funding will be used for business development, product and technology development, and expansion to other countries 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.
Harlem Capital said they were drawn to Lami by its diverse market scope and strategic approach to growth.
“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 ecommerce 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 have a strong trajectory as they expand across the continent,” said Harlem Capital Principal Gabby Cazeau
“There are numerous societal vulnerabilities around the globe that will only be addressed by innovative, and technology-led solutions within this century. Lami’s products, many of which are accessible instantly, ushers Africa into a new and financially safer paradigm, a journey we’re passionate to be involved in,” added Peter Bruce-Clark.
