In a bid to make insurance more accessible and affordable to Nigerians, Casava has banked $4 million dollars in a pre-seed funding round led by Target Global, a Berlin-based venture capital firm.
This was contained in a press release forwarded to Technext on Wednesday. Casava is Nigeria’s 1st general and life microinsurance company licensed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).
According to the startup, the new funding will help it expand its reach as it looks to open opportunities around life and travel insurance while working towards increasing its user base by partnering with fintech and other digital companies.
The round saw the participation of foreign VCs, angel investors, and local investors including Entrée Capital, Oliver Jung, Tom Blomfield, Ed Robinson, Brandon Krieg, Uche Pedro, Babs Ogundeyi, Musty Mustapha, Shola Akinlade, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Honey Ogundeyi amongst others.
Speaking with TechCrunch, the founder and CEO of Casava, Bode Pedro emphasized the need for the breakdown of insurance payments in the market, adding that the company, since its inception, has been well received by the public.
“We saw mass adoption and knew the market needed insurance payments to be broken down. But then we noticed that as brokers, we didn’t have full control about that process, and we weren’t giving people the best experience.”
Bode Pedro, Casava’s CEO
This pre-seed round is a landmark in pre-seed funding in Nigeria and Africa as it is the largest pre-seed by an insurtech startup in Africa and the second-largest by any startup in Nigeria.
Casava’s journey
Pedro, who has had more than a decade of hands-on experience in insurance, running VisaCover, an insurance company with a focus on Uber drivers, is leading the Casava team. According to Pedro, building a sustainable product required intensive efforts in management and control.
“We knew if we were going to take insurance to the next level, then maybe we need to control that product and be involved in product end-to-end,” Pedro was quoted by TechCrunch.
In 2019, the startup hired Olusegun Makinde, an ex-VP at JP Morgan to serve as its chief operating officer. In 2021, Makinde lead the team to secure its microinsurance license before the startup’s April 2021 launch.
What is obtainable?
The startup’s health insurance product offers users access to over 1,000 doctors on telemedicine and 900 hospitals across Nigeria.
In a blog post on Medium, Pedro further shared the vision of the company, noting that Casava accords special attention to young people and families either as free or subscribed users.
At Casava, we want to show you why insurance is relevant. Our products are affordable, appealing, educative, valuable, and specifically designed for young people and families. You can use our products on a free trial and get value add benefits while you are subscribed. If something does happen, we pay claims fast and we celebrate with you when we pay.
– Bode Pedro
Bottomline
While it is hoped, however, that the new raiser will serve Casava to a good end, it is expected that the team beef up its capacity in delivering a stellar product that Africans, not just Nigerians, can court and deploy effortlessly.
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