Turaco Raises $10M Series A Round To Drive Expansion

Turaco has announced the close of a $10 million Series A equity round led by AfricInvest, through the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund, and existing investor, Novastar Ventures. The round also included participation from Enza Capital, Global Partnerships, Zephyr Acorn, Operator Stack, Asi Ventures Limited, and Push Ventures.

With over 500 million mobile subscribers in Africa, most of whom are uninsured. The latest round of funding places Turaco in a strong position to address this untapped market, doubling down its expansion efforts through strategic partnerships.

As a result, Turaco will continue to power innovation in inclusive insurance as well as stand firmly at the forefront of the continent’s rapidly growing insurance sector.

The company said it’s able to achieve this through a B2B and B2B2C business model, forming partnerships with top tech-enabled companies with a large pool of customers or staff in emerging markets, including some of the continent’s most trusted brands such as Sun King, One Acre Fund, Tugende, M-KOPA and VisionFund. Through its active partnerships, the insurtech has designed and delivered a suite of bespoke medical, life, asset, and vehicle insurance packages that have already covered over half a million lives across Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.

In Africa, 90% of people have no formal safety net to catch them if they get sick or are in an accident. Insurance is still very much in its infancy. Most African insurance underwriters and intermediaries use rigid systems that do not allow for integration with external partners, with many still using paper-based processes. Turaco is building in a largely untapped sector, opening up an extremely large market and innovating for mass market consumers by providing a cutting-edge solution that will drive inclusive insurance.

Ted Pantone, Turaco CEO and Co-founder said: “We are proud to help drive insurance adoption, especially among low-income earners. 90% of our customers have never had insurance before, but the surprising thing is that people really want to buy insurance!

“They just don’t have easy access to products that really work for them. This investment enables us to scale our business to serve millions of insurance customers across our current markets and beyond. We are thrilled to have these great new investors join our team for this next season of growth,” Pantone added.

Patricia Rinke, AfricInvest Investment Officer stated: “In our interactions with Ted and his team, we could see a great vision and flawless execution coming together. The company’s innovative distribution model responds to the unmet demand in the African insurance sector, and we look forward to working with Turaco as they continue to build on their early success.”

Yassine Oussaifi, Partner at AfricInvest and co-head of CAIF said, “As the insurance penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa remains below 3%, one of the lowest rates globally, we believe Turaco has developed the tools and know-how to fill this gap and reach low-income earners with products adapted to their needs, thus being a critical part of the push to help shield the most disadvantaged from unforeseen financial burdens and shocks. We are pleased to support Turaco as it scales further and has a positive impact on the continent.”

Olúwatóyìn Emmanuel-Olubake, Investment Director at Novastar Ventures stated: “Turaco has grown over 300% since Novastar’s initial investment in 2020. We are excited to continue partnering with the exceptional team at Turaco and welcome new investors including AfricInvest, Global Partnerships and Enza Capital to this journey.”

Turaco said this capital will help to further grow its world class team, develop new products, accelerate partnerships and access new markets in service of its goal to mitigate the impact of daily shocks for millions of vulnerable people across Africa.”